


Upside Down

by Black_Cat_Autumn



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: ...Angst, Actress Amity Blight, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Amity Blight Has a Crush on Luz Noceda, Amity Blight is a Mess, Amity’s parents are the worst, Baker Eda, Bisexual Luz Noceda, Blight Parents’ A+ Parenting, Boscha is kinda mean, F/F, Fluff, Gay Disaster Amity Blight, Human AU, I think this would be a good time to mention that there’s angst, Luz and Amity are Sophomores, Luz being a disaster at words, Luz can’t flirt, No Smut, Slow Burn, Teacher Lilith, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, dodgeball - Freeform, oblivious luz
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:14:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 46,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27066238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Black_Cat_Autumn/pseuds/Black_Cat_Autumn
Summary: Being both a teenager and a popular actress was, to be honest, awful.Amity grew up on the road, following in her parents’ footsteps and hoping to become half as skilled as they. And, according to some, she was. Amity refused to give herself a break, always jumping for the next audition or role. When a TV series she acts in goes viral, everything changes. She is recognized everywhere.And, as expected, Amity needed a break. After an entire year of being carted around the world and offered multiple movie roles, she decides to take half a year off. So she chooses to attend a tiny high school in the middle of nowhere, hoping no one would recognize her.All Amity wants is to lie low and take the little time she has to be the teen she never got to be. Things prove to be a billion times more difficult when an extroverted girl with a contagious smile follows her around like a lost puppy dog!And yes, she is cute, not that it matters...
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 305
Kudos: 646





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all, I hope you enjoy the first chapter! Let me know what you think. :)

Amity grimaced, opening her eyes when hearing the alarm blaring next to her. She rolled over and hit her phone screen, smiling contently when the noise ceased. 

Not five minutes later and the sound of the bedroom door opening was accompanied by a shrill shout.

“Miss Blight!”

She peeked an eye open, mouth twisting into a frown. Her agent, Kikimora, was standing by the door, scowling. She crossed her arms, a disgusted expression on her face. “Are you ever going to get up? You were the one who wanted to go to school, remember?”

Amity sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She hesitantly left her blankets behind, the cool air causing a chill run up her spine. Kikimora remained in the doorway, her ever-present scowl on her face. She was short, maybe around five foot. Her dark blue hair was tied back, bangs falling freely over one eye.

Amity sighed, wrapping her arms around her torso. “Have my parents called yet? They said they would check up on me, and that was a week ago.”

The agent shook her head, defeat audible in her voice. “I apologize, Miss Blight. They still haven't called.”

The actress grimaced, chest aching. Of course her parents wouldn’t call. Why was she even surprised? They were probably busy with their own lives and schedules.

The agent’s expression softened slightly, her eyebrows knitting together. She offered a nod as she turned on her heel, softly shutting the bedroom door behind her. 

Amity trudged over to her closet, looking something to wear. After many wardrobe changes, she settled on a pair of pink leggings and a dark oversized sweatshirt. 

Kikimora was not all that bad. She was rough around the edges and always seemed like she was scheming something, but Amity couldn’t help but feel that her agent cared. She was far from loving, but she had to care a little, right? She did insist on living with Amity when she decided to take a break, after all. 

Her train of thought was interrupted by a shrill shout from the kitchen. “Hurry! I’m driving you to school in four minutes!”

Amity groaned, gazing at her reflection in the mirror. Her turquoise hair was slightly disheveled, but she had no time to brush it. She ran her hand through it before grabbing a hair tie. She pulled her hair up, making a half tail. 

Amity rushed around her room, shoving notepads and other materials into a book bag. She jumped into a pair of sneakers before sprinting to the kitchen. 

Her agent was impatiently standing by the front door, hands on her hips.

Amity followed her out of the house and down the driveway. She got into her agent’s car climbing into the passenger’s seat.

The drive was faster than Amity expected it to be. Maybe it was because she was nervous? It was the first time she was going to be in a public school since she was little (and that was kindergarten, so it doesn't really count). 

Amity tugged at her sweatshirt, biting her bottom lip. She ignored her violently churning stomach, staring out the window. 

Would people recognize her? 

Amity felt her throat drying up. What if everyone thought she was a loser—

Wait, why the heck did she decide to do this anyways?!?

Right, because she wanted to.

Amity needed a break. 

She grew up on the road, following in her parents footsteps and hoping to become one of the best actresses in the world... or at least better than her parents. 

When a tv series she acted in went viral, everything changed. Almost everywhere she went since the series took off, there would be someone gawking at her. 

At first she loved it. For the first time in her life, people seemed to like her for herself, not because her parents were big movie stars. 

But as time passed, so did her excitement. 

Amity stopped believing that anyone actually liked her as a person. Her acting was the only reason people wanted to talk to her. If that stupid show didn't take off, she would still be invisible, even to her parents. 

But that was normal, right?

The car came to a stop, and Kikimora cleared her throat. Amity took her hint, tumbling out of the car. She watched as her agent sped off, settled dust now floating in the air. 

Huh. 

Amity turned to face the school, gripping the strap of her book bag. The building seemed gigantic and cold, looming over the actress. She felt tiny in the shadow of it. 

She grimaced, walking up the stone steps to the school. Since she was new, she would probably have to check in at the office...

Students were already inside. People darted in different directions, all trying to squeeze their way through the halls. Amity felt misplaced in the sea of people. The event of someone recognizing her was inevitable. She kept her head down, dodging through the crowd. She was, somehow, able to make it to the office before being trampled. 

The woman at the front desk offered the actress a polite smile. Her voice is almost drowned out by the first bell blaring. “Hello. You must be the new student! You are Amity Blight, correct?”

Amity nodded, shifting her weight. “That would be me.”

“I’ll get Principal Bump. He can show you where your first class is.”

She stood, turning a corner and disappearing from sight. After about a minute, she returns with an elderly man. He’s wearing a strange red hat, which clashed with his formal attire. He smiled at her with kind eyes, extending a hand. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Miss Amity. I am Principal Bump.”

He lead her through the now-deserted halls, rambling about the joys of teaching, along with the sports and clubs that the school had to offer. Fortunately, they make it to the English room. Principal Bump offers her a grin before opening the door. 

The next thing she knows, Principal Bump is beckoning her inside. She exhales loudly. 

It was now or never. 

She ran a hand through her hair, following the principal into the room. She can feel twenty pairs of eyes staring at her. 

Bump’s voice boomed, echoing through the classroom. “Hello, class! I wanted to introduce a new student—

A loud gasp echoed from the back of the class. Amity’s eyes darted in the direction of the sound.

There was a girl. 

Fluffy brown hair, wide eyes the color of chocolate, a dark complexion. Her hand was clamped over her mouth. She looked at Amity as if she were a ghost.

Realization hit Amity like a truck. Whoever this student was, she recognized her.

Great. 

Principal Bump rose an eyebrow. “Do you have anything to share with the class, Luz?”

The girl opened her mouth to speak, eyes darting between Amity and the principal. “I—Is that who I think—WHAT!!?! There’s no way that she’s—You know what? Forget it, never mind, sorry...”

Amity blinked, trying to piece together the fragmented sentence that had tumbled out of the stranger’s mouth.

Bump continued, despite the baffled look on the girl’s face. “She’ll be taking the same classes as all of you, so I expect everyone to treat her well. Miss Amity Blight will—

The student cheered, a grin on her face. “I KNEW IT!!!!!”

Yup. She definitely recognized Amity. 

Bump sighed, ignoring the brunette and facing the actress. “Is there anything you would like to say about yourself to the class?”

Amity shrugged, eyes still on the stranger whooping in the back of the class. “No?”

Bump smiled at her. “I have other matters to attend. Just swing by office if you need anything, alright?”

He left her standing at the front of the class with her new teacher. She smiled down at her. “I am Ms. Clawthorne, but I would prefer if you just call me Lilith. You can choose any seat you want.”

Amity nodded, choosing the closest seat to the front as she could. 

Lilith instructed the class to read from their textbooks. She then sat in front of her computer, eyes glued to the screen. 

“Hey, Amity’s your name?”

She looked at the girl next to her, nodding slowly. “Uh, yeah.”

She studied the girl sitting next to her. She wore a varsity jacket. Her hot pink hair was tied into a messy bun, stands falling in front of her face. Her feet were propped up onto the desk in front of her. She chewed a piece of gum loudly, blowing a gigantic bubble and popping it before speaking. 

“The name’s Boscha. You from out of town?”

Amity nodded again. The girl—Boscha—just smirked. “Do you play any sports?”

She shrugged. “I played a little soccer when I was little, but then... things got complicated.”

Boscha blew another bubble. “I play soccer too! You should totally try out for the team!”

Amity smiled at the invitation. She should do it! She always wanted to know what it was like to play on a high school sports team. This would be the perfect opportunity!

“Maybe I will.”

Boscha picked up a pencil from her desk and twirled it, eyes still trained on Amity. “Do you need someone to show you around school? You can hang with me and my friends at lunch too...”

Amity felt a wave of relief wash over her. At least she wouldn’t have to sit by herself!

———

The class period was agonizingly slow. And even more surprising, Amity loved it! She actually found herself enjoying reading from a textbook and listening to Lilith. Boscha seemed nice enough too. 

But then there was the girl sitting in the back of class. Luz, was it? Yeah, that’s what principal Bump called her...

She. Wouldn’t. Stop. Staring.

Amity could feel a pair of brown eyes glued to the back of her head the entire hour. Whenever she would turn to confront Luz, she would look back down at her desk. 

And, no, it was not cute, thank you for asking!

When bell rang, Amity followed Boscha out of the classroom. Once she was sure they were out of earshot from other students, she tugged on the athlete’s sleeve. 

“What’s with that student? The one that sits in the back?”

Boscha chuckled, rolling her eyes in response. “Luz? I would stay as far away from her as you can. She’s a total freak!”

Amity felt her stomach drop. Luz seems a little strange, but was she really that bad? 

“What makes you say that?”

“Just trust me on this one.”

Amity sighed. Maybe Boscha was right. She has been going to school here longer, after all. Besides, there was something about Luz that made Amity feel strange. Staying away might be the best option. 

———

After a couple other classes, all of which she had Boscha and Luz in, Amity was in the cafeteria. 

Much to her chagrin, a couple students recognized her. About ten, if not less, stared at her with wide eyes. It only took a minute for the students to lose interest in her. Amity often saw people get confused on whether she was who they thought. Most would, in consequence, never go up to her and ask.

All other students, however, didn’t give her a second glance. 

About halfway through lunch, Amity spotted a group of kids at a table in the corner. One of the three was a familiar brunette. Luz was shouting some kind of exclamation to the others at her table, hands waving frantically in the air. There was a gigantic grin on her face when she spoke. 

Amity felt her face heat up. There was something about Luz that made her heart skip a beat. Quite frankly, she never had felt that way before when looking at someone—

Luz suddenly turned, eyes locking with Amity’s. 

Crap! 

The brunette grinned, offering Amity a tiny wave before turning back to her friends. 

Huh. 

———

“What class do you have for sixth period?”

Amity looked down at her schedule, squinting at the faded ink. “Gym.”

Boscha sighed, her bottom lip sticking out. “That’s too bad. I have Robotics... I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Amity hummed, offering her a nod before searching the winding halls for her next destination. Eventually, she found the gym. After exchanging a few words with the coach, she takes the uniform in his hands and trudges over to the locker room. She opens the door.

Within seconds, someone’s face is mere inches from hers. Luz grinned, eyes bright. “Heya, there!”

She extends a hand in front of Amity. “My name’s Luz—um—I was the kid who had a heart attack when I saw you?”

The actress frowned, giving the student’s hand a weak shake. 

Luz continued. “You know, I almost didn't recognize you! Like, you dyed your hair turquoise and it was brown in the show you acted in—but I like it. It’s really pretty! Am I rambling?”

Amity rose an eyebrow. What is with her?

Luz sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “Sorry about that. I tend to ramble a lot...”

She takes a breath before continuing. “What brings you to Hexside High School? It kind of surprises me that you aren’t... you know, acting or something like that.”

Amity frowned. Boscha told her to ignore Luz, but how can she? The girl is literally less than a foot from her!

“I needed a break from acting. Well—not really the acting itself, but other stuff...”

“Like what?”

Amity didn't know whether to scream or run away. Can’t Luz see that she didn't want to talk about it?

But there was something about the way Luz smiled. It was like positivity radiated from her. Amity would be willing to bet that Luz was always happy. 

She has dimples too. Amity hadn’t noticed until she was this close. 

Crap, was it hot in here???

Amity shrugged. “I—uh— I have to go get changed.”

Luz nodded, taking a step back. She offered the actress an apologetic smile. “Right. Sorry for bothering you! I guess I’ll see you later?”

She then disappeared through the locker room door. 

For rest of class, all Amity could think about was the way Luz smiled, and wondered why it got her stomach to flip. 

———

“Tell me what your first day of school was like.”

Amity looked across the table at Kikimora, who was typing into her phone. “It was interesting, I guess...”

After a moment of silence, the agent placed her phone onto the table. “What makes you say that?”

“Well, it was mostly fine. Everyone seems pretty nice... but there’s this girl.”

Kikimora wore an unreadable expression on her face. “What about her?”

“Her name is Luz and she’s... really strange.”

“What makes you say that?”

Amity poked at the food on her plate with a fork, eyes averted from her agent. “I don’t know. She recognized me and freaked out a little. But she also seems nice? She rambles a ton too.”

Kikimora shrugged. “Perhaps it would be beneficial to try befriending her?”

“But that’s the problem. Another person I met today, Boscha, said that I should stay away from Luz. She told me that she was a freak...”

The agent rolled her eyes. “Kids in high school tend to be harsh, especially those who attend public high schools.”

“What should I do?”

Kikimora opened her mouth to respond, but the sound of her phone ringing interrupted. She promptly picked up her device, eyes reflecting the blue screen. She stood, bringing the phone to her ear. “Agent of Miss Amity Blight speaking. Oh, Mr. Bellows....”

She disappeared into her room, shutting the door from behind her.

Amity sighed, heart sinking. obviously she wouldn’t be getting any help from Kikimora. Then what would she do about Luz?

Why was this big of a deal, anyways? She could make a decision on what to do about Luz later. For now, she has homework to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Luz’s POV:

Luz sprinted down the street, her backpack bouncing from behind. She burst through the door of her home.

“MOM!!!”

Luz didn’t bother to wait for a response, dropping her backpack onto the floor and racing to kitchen. Her mother was sitting at the table, a half-eaten sandwich in her hand. She looked up at Luz, a bright smile on her face. “Hey there!”

Luz squealed. “You won’t believe who showed up at school today!”

Her mother waited patiently for her to continue, taking a bite of her sandwich. 

“Amity Blight!”

“Who?”

Luz’s lips twisted into a frown. “Amity Blight—You know, the actress from that show I’ve been telling you about?”

Her mother rose an eyebrow. “Are you sure that she’s really an actress? Sometimes people can look similar to a celebrity without being related...”

“It was definitely her. Principal Bump called her ‘Miss Blight’, and she herself said that she was taking a break from acting when I confronted her!”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Don’t you have to go to work to get to?”

Luz gasped. “I’m going to be late!”

She raced out of her house and down the street. How far away was Eda’s shop? One mile maybe? Two?

Her mind wandered as she ran. She could barely believe what had happened that day. An actress goes to her school, and Luz seems to be the only one who recognizes her. 

How do you even talk to a celebrity? Luz didn’t want to bother her! She just wanted to be friendly. She knew first hand how difficult it was going to a new school. Amity most likely didn’t know anyone either. What if she was lonely?

Luz’s stomach churned as she ran. Amity did seem to like hanging out with Boscha. 

Boscha was the school’s renounced school bully. She found stealing students’ lunch money, shoving nerds into walls, and disturbing classes as fun. 

Did Amity know that? Or worse, did she approve? 

The actress seemed cold and distant, but that didn’t mean that she wasn't nice, right? She probably just needed a friend.

Luz, somehow, managed to get to work on time. She pushed open the door, eyes locking with violet.

“LUZ!!!”

She grinned at the boy sitting on a wooden stool. “Hey, King! How’s it going?”

The ten year old sighed, running a hand down his face. “I’m bored.”

Luz chuckled, ruffling his hair before disappearing to the back of the shop. 

Eda Clawthorne’s shop was her second home. It’s where she felt most welcome—not that she didn’t feel comfortable at her actual house!—Her mom was great, but she didn’t always seem to understand Luz’s interests.

There was something about Eda and King that felt like home. Maybe it was because the shop was actually a home too. It was settled in a weird corner, sitting between a neighborhood and a street of stores. 

Eda, who also happened to be the sister of one of Luz’s teachers, was the owner of a bakery. People often flocked to the store, all wanting to try a pastry or test out a suspicious caffeine concoction. It was especially busy on weekends. Luz would always walk in those days and see Eda arguing with a customer over the price of something. She was the personification of chaos. Whenever she wasn’t messing around with King in the front, she was testing out a new recipe. 

Today was less busy than most. Eda was in the back of her bakery, pacing by the oven. She turned when hearing Luz’s footfalls, lips twisting into a grin. “Heya, kid!”

She grinned, walking over to the coat hanger and grabbing an apron. “Guess who I saw at school today!”

“Amity Blight?”

Luz’s eyes widened, mouth a gape. “How did you know that??”

Eda chuckled. “Her agent came into the store today. She seemed... busy. She was yelling at someone over the phone about Amity’s schedule. I remembered you telling me the other day about an actress with the name, so I looked her up.”

“Yeah?”

Eda shrugged, eyes glinting mischievously. “Apparently, Amity Blight is taking a break from acting for a while—but what did you think of her? She’s in your class, after all.”

Luz sighed, rubbing the back of her neck. “I don’t know yet...”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t know how to talk to her! It’s just—whenever I try, I start freezing up... I always end up rambling.”

Eda smiled, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “You’re a good kid, Luz. I know it’s hard talking to someone, especially if they are successful and popular. Just be yourself. If she’s as good as a person we hope she is, she’ll want to be your friend.”

Luz fiddled with the strings of her apron, head ducked. “I guess so. Also, I think I’m the only person who recognizes her.”

“Maybe Amity doesn’t want to be recognized. She has to be taking a break from acting for a reason, after all.”

“You’re probably right. Then should I not bring it up?”

A timer next to the oven sounded off. Eda grinned, pulling on a pair of baking mittens and pulling out a batch of cookies. “How am I supposed to know? Do I look like someone who talks to celebrities all the time?”

Luz chuckled. “No, not really.”

Eda set down the baking tray, eyes trained on Luz. “Wanna help me with a new recipe? It’s a little dangerous and we might blow up the oven, but it’ll taste really good if it works!”

Luz stood. “Sure.”

———

Luz walked down the street, hand wrapped around the straps of her backpack. Next to her was best friend and next door neighbor, Willow Park. She hummed, looking up at the brunette. “What did you do after school yesterday?”

Luz cringed, lips pursed into a thin line. “Ummm... Eda and I started a fire.”

Willow’s eyes widened behind her circular glasses. “Is everyone alright???”

“Don’t worry, fires happen often with Eda. Actually, I’m surprised that I’m not used to it yet.”

“What were you and Eda trying to bake?”

“A Brookie—a mix between a cookie and brownie.” 

“Was it good? You know, before it burnt to a crisp.”

Luz grinned, pulling a paper bag full of Brookies from her backpack. “We were able to salvage a batch before the oven caught fire.”

She offered the bag to her friend. Willow, rose an eyebrow. “Are you sure it’s not poisonous?”

Luz laughed nervously. “Yes... maybe... no. One of them may be, so I would be careful of which you choose.”

Willow scoffed and rolled her eyes, smiling as she took a Brookie out from the paper bag. Her eyes lit up when she bit into it. “Woah! This is actually really good!”

“I know, right? I think it’s Eda’s best baking combo ever, keeping in mind that most of her experiments end up burning half the kitchen down.”

Willow finished her first Brookie, grabbing another and taking a gigantic bite. They walked up the steps to school.

That’s when Luz sees her. Amity was sitting on the top step, eyes cast down at her phone. Luz skidded to a halt.

Willow turned, eyebrows furrowing. “What’s wrong? Wait, isn't that the new kid?”

Luz nodded.

“What’s your fascination with her, anyways? I saw you staring at her in first period yesterday...”

Luz rubbed the back of her neck, eyes darting between the actress and her best friend. Should she tell her that Amity is actually a celebrity? She shook her head at the thought. It was possible that Amity didn't want anyone knowing...

“Er—she looks like someone I knew from my last school. She isn't who I thought she was though.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll meet you inside?”

Luz nodded, offering Willow a weak smile. “See ya later.”

She waited until Willow was inside to look back at Amity. The actress wore a pink long sleeved shirt and black shorts. Luz frowned at the distant expression on Amity’s face. She looked sad...

She’s walking to Amity before she can stop herself—

And now Amity’s made eye contact with her.

Great. 

Luz sits next to Amity, leaving about a foot of space between them. “Hey there! What are you up to?”

Amity scowled at her, lower lip sticking out. Luz could feeling her confidence wavering, but she made sure to keep smiling. 

Eventually Amity talks, eyes lowering back down to her phone. Her tone was stressed, a cold expression on her face. “Texting my agent. I accidentally left my History book at home and she’s too busy to pick it up. Why do you ask?”

Something in Luz’s chest ached. Maybe trying to talk to Amity was a mistake.

“I was just curious—wait, you forgot your book? I think that there are extras in the office. I can walk with you to get another, if you want.”

Amity shook her head, standing. “I can go myself.” 

She took off into the school, leaving Luz sitting alone on the steps. She exhaled loudly, running a hand through her hair. This is fine... she still has a chance of befriending Amity. It’s only a matter of when.

———

“Dodgeball is one of the greatest games ever invented. It is a game of skill, agility, cunning. A game with one simple rule; dodge.”

Luz grinned. She loved her gym teacher. He was definitely intimidating (and probably a little sadistic), but at least he made school interesting. Last year, he got the freshmen to play ‘Assassins’, letting them use water guns filled with soda as weapons.

Needless to say, gym was the best class ever. 

The teacher, Coach Ross, lined up the dodgeballs at the center of the room. He then called the sophomores over. He hummed, separating students into groups.

“Er—Luz, why don’t you go with Gus to that side?”

She followed Gus the far side of the room. 

Gus was another friend of Luz, along with her lab partner in chemistry. They met last year in their Geometry class. They often geeked out over nerdy subjects together, and ended up hanging out at lunch and after school.

The teacher turned to face the other students, eyes landing on a girl with turquoise hair. “You’re Miss Amity Blight, correct? Why don’t you go on the opposite side?”

She offered him a curt nod, joining a group of students opposite of Luz and Gus.

The coach grinned, cracking his knuckles. “Start the game!”

Luz ran to the center of the room, grabbing a dodgeball and hitting a boy in the back. 

If it was one sport Luz was good at, it was Dodgeball. Within two minutes there’s three people left on the field; on her side just her, the other was Amity and a girl named Skara. She grinned, picking up a dodgeball and throwing it in Skara’s direction. It whooshes pass her, hitting the wall. Luz grabs another one, throwing it in Skara’s direction as hard as she could. 

And it hits something... Just not the right something. 

The dodgeball hits Amity in the face. Hard. She stumbles backward, hands shooting up to her face.

Luz gasps, the game forgotten. She runs Over to the actress. “Are you okay??”

She barley notices that Skara had picked up a dodgeball, or that she hit her on the back with it. Amity’s cheek was a violent shade of red. It looked like it would bruise.

Coach Ross jogged to the Sophomores, resting a hand on Amity’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go to the nurse, Miss Blight?” 

Luz interrupted before the she could say anything. “Can I go with her?”

Both the teacher’s and Amity’s eyes widen. “Why?”

Luz looked down at the floor. “This is my fault. I shouldn’t have thrown it so hard, and it’s my responsibility to make sure she’s okay.”

Coach Ross merely nods in response, patting Amity on the back before jogging over to the rest of the class.

She looks at Amity. She is staring back at Luz with an unreadable facial expression, arms crossed. 

“Amity, I—

“Save it.”

Luz shut her mouth, averting her eyes from her classmate. The first few minutes of walking to the nurse was in silence. Eventually, she tries apologizing. “I know it’s not an excuse, but I wasn’t aiming for you, much less your face.”

Silence. 

This was all her fault. Why did she through that stupid dodgeball so hard? This was literally the worst thing that could possibly happen. 

After about a minute, Amity clears her throat. “Do you play softball, or something??? You threw that dodgeball really hard.”

Luz shook her head. “I’ve never done any real sports. Oh, I did try cheerleading last year, if that counts. That didn't go so well either...”

Silence again.

By the time they arrive at the nurse’s office, Amity’s cheek was swollen and bruising. Luz winced whenever she looked at it, an overwhelming sense of guilt washing over her.   
That had to hurt.

The nurse gasped when they entered her office. “What happened?”

Amity glowered at Luz. “She did.”

Luz grimaced, wringing her hands together. The nurse gave Amity an ice pack, ushering her over to a seat. Luz sat down next to Amity, eyes cast down. 

After a while, the nurse sighs. She offered the brunette a sympathetic smile. “I think you should head back to class.”

Luz Looked between the nurse and Amity. She didn’t want to leave her here, especially after what had happened. There was something about the way Amity stared at her. It was a painful mix of disgust and hatred. Was it really possible that she had messed up so badly? How could this go so wrong?

She stood, looking down at the actress. “I have to get going. I’m really sorry, Amity.”

Luz turned on her heel, heading over to the door. 

“Wait.”

Her head swiveled around, eyes locking with Golden. Amity had the ice pack pressed against her cheek, other hand resting on her hip. “It’s okay, Luz. Really, it’s fine. I understand that it was just an accident.”

Luz nodded slowly, offering Amity a weak smile before disappearing through the door. 

———

“I need to fix this!”

Eda hummed, sliding a fifth batch of Brookies into the oven. Apparently, the baked good had become the most popular item in her store. Almost everyone who came in wanted one. 

She laughed. “I’ll say! You were supposed to befriend her, not throw a dodgeball at her face!”

Luz groaned, running a hand down her face. “Do you have any suggestions?”

Eda closed the oven door. “Whenever I got into a fight with Lilith, I would bake something for her. It was better than actually apologizing, anyways.”

“That could work!”

Eda grinned, ruffling Luz’s hair before walking over to a cabinet. She pulled out a Tupperware, walking over to a batch of fresh Brookies and dumping a few inside. “Here, why don’t you bring these to her tomorrow?”

Luz wrapped her arms around Eda, drawing her into a hug. “Thank you!”

Maybe, just maybe, she had a chance in fixing this after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone! I know that I kind of left this chapter in a conflict, but I promise that it gets better! I already have multiple chapters written, so you won’t have to worry about me not updating. I guarantee that I will post on Saturdays (Sundays if I’m really swamped), unless if I warn you otherwise. 
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boo! :)
> 
> Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope that you enjoy this chapter and have a spooky rest of the weekend.

Amity’s POV:

“She threw a ball at your face???”

Amity cringed at Kikimora’s tone, prodding her bruised cheek with a finger. “It wasn't her fault.”

Her agent rose an eyebrow. “What’s wrong with you? You usually are furious when something bad happens to you!”

“What do you mean?”

“Remember Matt, your costar in ‘The Bat Queen’?”

She scowled. “What about him?”

“Last time you saw him, he accidentally spilled soda on your shirt.”

“So?” 

“You retaliated by kicking him in the shin!”

Amity rolled her eyes. “That was different. Luz actually seemed upset—she was really sorry.”

Kikimora sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with two fingers. “Go finish your homework, Miss Blight. I’ll order us something to eat, okay?”

Amity nodded, too tired to respond. She shuffled to her room, dropping her book bag to the floor and flopping onto her bed. 

She had, like the first day, ended up following Boscha around. But hey, who else could she hang out with? 

Well, Luz. 

She considered the option for a while before discarding it completely. She almost accepted Luz’s offer to walk her to the office, but remembered what Boscha told her. 

Amity didn't know how she felt about the athlete. There was just something weird about the way Boscha treated her friends. It was as if she expected them to complement her all the time; and they did. Was that something that friends usually do? Use others to feed their ego?

Everything just seemed off. 

Then gym happened.... and a dodgeball nailed her in the face. 

At first she was furious. Like—really??? She was trying to attract as little attention to herself as possible! And of course it was Luz who had thrown the dodgeball; the girl everyone had been warning Amity about. 

Luz, much to Amity then offered walking her over to the nurse. She apologized a billion times for something that, quite frankly, was out of her control. 

Amity knew that she had to stop being so hard on Luz. At this point, she was just being a jerk to her. 

So Amity made a last ditch effort to tell Luz that it was fine, but the she didn’t seem to believe it. 

She felt terrible. Luz was the only person who was actually making an effort to befriend her, and she ended up scaring her away. 

Amity groaned, running a hand down her face. Hopefully she didn’t ruin the non-existent friendship between them.

———

Amity fell out of bed when hearing her alarm go off. She whined before standing, grabbing her phone and hitting the snooze button. 

She flung her closet doors open, this time pulling out a tank top and pair of dark jeans. She stared at her reflection, a grumpy expression on her face. Her cheek was a violent shade of purple and blue, spreading into a light shade of pink at the edges.

...It isn’t that bad. Sure, the bruise was definitely obvious, but that didn’t mean people would notice... right?

Amity found Kikimora in the living room, yelling at someone on the other side of her phone. She, in hopes to avoid getting screamed at, decided to backtrack to the kitchen. 

Not five minutes later and they’re in the car. The agent is on her phone the entire ride to school.

“I know!!! Miss Blight will be finished with her leave of absence by early January, and then she’s free—no, she will not be changing her mind!”

Amity grimaced. Kikimora had been fending off clients ever since she decided to take a break. For some reason, no one seemed to understand that no, surprisingly, meant no...

The car screeched to a halt and the actress tumbled out of the car.

After watching kikimora speed dangerously around the corner, Amity trudged up the steps and into the school.

Her eyes immediatley land on a familiar brunette .

Luz was on the other side of the hall, talking to a girl with circular glasses and dark, almost blue, hair. 

There was a nervous expression on her face. She bit down on her lip, eyes darting. It was as if she was looking for someone. She absently held a Tupperware in her hands. 

Amity stiffens when her eyes lock with Luz.

And now she’s walking over. 

Crap. 

The dull pain in her cheek made a reappearance. Her hand flew up to cradle it.

Luz walked across the hall, stopping mere inches from the actress. “Hey, Amity! How’s your cheek doing—er, that was a stupid question. It looks pretty bad.”

Amity rose an eyebrow in response. 

Luz visibly gulped. “Look, I feel really bad about yesterday and wanted to try making up for it.”

She extended her hands, holding out the Tupperware. “Here.”

Amity, hesitantly, took the box. She opened the lid, eyes widening at the baked good inside. 

“What is it?”

Luz rubbed the back of her neck, eyes darting between Amity’s cheek and the Tupperware. “It’s a Brookie—A friend of mine and I worked out this really great recipe and it only caught fire once! I—um—I promise they aren’t poisonous. It’s supposed to be a mix between a cookie and brownie—Am I rambling??? I’m rambling.”

Amity could feel a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. Luz was kinda nice... in a strange, cute way. 

Luz shifted her weight. “Well, I’ll see you in class? Once again, I am so, so sorry about what happened yesterday. I hope you can forgive me.”

And just like that, Luz was gone, racing down the halls and back over to her friend.

She picked up a—what was it? A Brookie?—and took a bite. 

Woah! 

Luz might be terrible at dodgeball, but she was a great baker!

Amity closed the Tupperware, shoving it into her book bag. As if on cue, the first bell blared. She sighed, rushing off to her homeroom class.

———

Boscha hummed, lazily scrolling through her Instagram. “I’m bored!”

The actress huffed in response, eyes sliding across the words in her book. 

After a lot of begging, Boscha finally agreed to show Amity around the school. 

The library, in particular, piqued Amity’s interest. 

She had never been in a library longer than an hour because of her hectic schedule as an actress. There was never time to sit in a silent corner and read.

Now, she had all the time in the world. 

So here they were. 

“How’re you liking it here so far?”

Amity shrugged in response, closing her book. “I don’t know yet. Life here is very different from what I’m used to.”

Boscha looked up at the actress, eyes glinting with mischief. “How?”

Amity heart froze. Was it possible that Boscha had found out who Amity really was? Was she testing her?

She frowned at the athlete, who was liking the photo of some random student at their school. “What makes you ask?”

Boscha smirked. “Well, you had to have moved to the middle of nowhere for some reason, right? Like—no one would move here just for the scenery, that’s for sure! So why are you here? Did one your parents get a job offer here? Or was there a reason you needed to get away?”

She gasped, a playful grin on her face. “Let me guess; Are you a spy???”

Amity chuckled, shaking her head. “Whatever you need to tell yourself.”

Boscha nodded in affirmation. “Yup, I’m convinced. You’re a spy for the government.”

The actress sighed, looking back down at her book. Boscha may definitely be arrogant, but she had her moments. 

Regardless of how things played out this semester, Amity was glad she chose to Hex High School.

———

Amity fell into the passenger’s seat of the car. Kikimora had dark circles underneath her bloodshot eyes. The extra large coffee cup in her hand spoke decibels.

“How was school today, Miss Blight?”

Amity pulled the Tupperware out from her backpack. “Luz gave me these this morning.”

Kikimora opened the lid. She scowled down at the Brookies, eyebrows furrowing.“What are they???”

“It’s some strange mix between a brownie and cookie. You should try one.”

“Are you sure?”

Amity rolled her eyes. “Just trust me.”

Kikimora took a tiny bite. “Oh... oh, I guess that is good.”

“Told you so.”

The agent offered her a tiny—albeit forced—smile. “I think you should give Luz a chance. If she was kind enough to bake you something as an apology, she seems worth befriending.”

Amity shook her head, eyes cast to the floor. “I’ve been thinking... what if she wants to be my friend just because I’m an actress?”

Kikimora frowned. “That is a possibility. Does anyone else, other than Luz, know that you are an actress?”

“Not yet.”

The agent sighed, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel as she changed lanes. The look on her face was more than enough to convey what she was about to say. Amity sighed, shrinking further into the passenger’s seat

Kikimora glowered at her through the review mirror. “We need to talk about your career, Miss Blight.”

She groaned obnoxiously, hoping to rattle the windows with her wails. “Why???”

Kikimora grimaced. “We are declining beneficial auditions and roles. I am worried that you may miss out on extremely good opportunities—

“But—

“And what if you become irrelevant? What if everything that you’ve worked so hard for just disappears? Are you truly willing to let all of the fame and fortune go!?”

Amity glared at the car in front of them, fists clenched. 

Great. Even her freaking agent thinks that she is making a mistake!

But what if she’s right? 

What if she really is throwing her entire career away, just to fulfill her desire to live the high school experience?

Is it worth it?

Her agent took a hand off the wheel, resting it on her shoulder. “Look—I’m not trying to pressure you. I understand your need to take a break... but you need to think about solutions to your problem; how to stay relevant while you’re gone.”

———

Kikimora shut the door behind them, kicking off her dress shoes. She watched as Amity stormed off to her room. She winced when she heard the door slam, along with classic rock music exploding through the walls.

kikimora would never understand Amity Blight. As hard as she tried, she could not crack the puzzle that was her employer. 

And though she hates to admit it, Kikimora.... actually likes the kid. Usually, the agent tried staying as far from emotions as possible. Feeling was, after all, a ridiculous distraction that got in the way of real work. 

But Amity had slowly snuck into Kikimora’s heart. 

Now she couldn’t persuade Miss Blight to the most practical decision without feeling... what was that emotion called? Right—guilt.

Stupid, right?

The agent jumped when hearing her phone ring. She pulled it out, eyes bulging when seeing the contact. She brought the device to her ear. 

“Mr. Belos...”

“Have you talked to Amity Blight yet?”

“Yes, but she is rather difficult to persuade. Give me some time, I’m sure she’ll change her mind. I’ll get her to sign the contract.”

“Make sure she does.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you like the story so far?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am really sorry for the delay. Something cosmically major happened in a fandom that I am super invested in (I don’t know if any of ya’ll watch Supernatural. Shout out in the comments if you do!), and I had to write about it. I ended up posting two stories within a forty eight hour period. 
> 
> So here is the next chapter, extra long! I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it :)

Amity flipped a page in her book, eyes sliding across the aging page. 

Recently Amity found herself in the library. There was something truly calming about sitting in a quiet building full of books. She had bee-lined to it the second school had ended and had been reading ever since. How long has it been? An hour? Three?

Tiny raindrops landed against the glass windows. It was cloudy and dark; the perfect atmosphere for reading. 

Amity’s mind drifted as she read.

So far, Hexside High School had been nice. It was a little strange and the students overwhelming, but she was getting by. The teachers were strange and eccentric, but she could tell that they were passionate about their subjects.

She spent most of her free time here or at home, aside from Soccer practice, which was only two days a week. 

Once in a while she would hang out with Boscha. On those days, they would usually do homework together, or compare notes— 

“Hey, that’s a good book!!”

Amity flinched, dropping the novel. Her head whipped around to the source of the sound. A familiar brunette was standing about two feet behind her, backpack slung over one shoulder. 

Luz cringed at her reaction, rubbing the back of her neck. “Sorry, I tend to have that effect on people.” She took the seat across from Amity, setting her bag down in the one next to her.

Amity rose an eyebrow in response, picking up her book and glaring at the page. “What do you want?”

Luz offered her a self-conscious grin. “Nothing? I just wanted to say that the book your reading is fantastic.”

Amity looked at the cover. “You’ve read ‘The Good Witch Azura?’”

Luz nodded, lips twisting into a crooked grin. “It’s a part of my favorite series, actually!”

Amity hummed. 

So Luz was a fan of the book too. No big deal, a lot of people like reading...

There was nothing special about Luz. Nothing in the slightest about her that made Amity’s heart skip a beat. 

Definitely not. 

Luz drummed her fingers against the table, eyes trained on Amity. She didn't bother to say anything, a smile still visible in her eyes. 

Amity didn't get it. What did Luz want from her? Why did she keep hanging out with her? Most people hated being around her. Just ask her co stars.

Seriously, there has to be a reason that her parents hadn't talked to her in months, right? It was because of her. Amity’s heart ached whenever she thought about it. It was her fault that she was lonely, her fault that she’s alone in her house with only her agent to keep her company. 

Then why was Luz still trying to befriend her? 

Maybe it was because of her status. She wants to know more about celebrity life, or tips to get money quick. 

Or worse, what if Luz just wanted to know more about the show?

Was that it? That must be.

Amity sighed, setting her book down. “Look, Luz, I’m tired of this.”

Luz frowned. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. “What do you mean?”

“I know why you want to hang out with me. It’s because you want to me give you spoilers for the next season of the series I act in, or want to know more about the character I play. Or perhaps it’s because you just want me to like you because I’m famous. Just leave already, Luz. I’m not the person you think I am.”

Luz was silent for a long time. Seconds stretched to minutes, the brunette’s eyes cast down to the table. 

Finally, finally, Luz speaks. 

“Do you really think I’d hang out with you just because you’re an actress???”

Amity watched as the baffled expression on Luz’s face twisted into a sorrowful one. 

She continued, voice barely audible. “I’m not like that, Amity. I might be strange, and I’m definitely a huge fan of your show, but that’s not why I’ve been sticking around you...”

Huh?

Amity uncrossed her arms. 

Luz sighed. “I hang out with you because I like you for you, not because I want to know more about some stupid, made-up character! Why is that so hard for you to understand? I like Y-O-U, and want to get to know Y-O-U better.”

Amity stared at Luz, mouth slightly ajar. The heartbroken expression on her face seemed so genuine.

Maybe Luz wasn’t trying to use her... maybe she never was. 

Luz averted her eyes again, looking back down at the table. “I know what it’s like to come from another place, what it’s like to leave your world behind and start somewhere new. I thought that maybe you could use a real friend from time to time—But if I really bother you so much, I’ll leave you alone from now on.”

Luz stood, grabbing her backpack and speeding out of the library. 

“Luz, wait—

Next thing the actress knew, she was sprinting out after her, book and backpack in her arms. 

She burst out of the library doors and into the rain. Luz was a few feet ahead. 

“Luz, stop!!”

Luz halted in her tracks. She turned, eyes locking with Amity’s. “What?”

Amity ran over, slowing to a stop about an arms-length of her. She doubled over to catch her breath. “Look—

She took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I just... I’m not the best with people skills.”

Luz crossed her arms, eyes still trained on the actress. Amity sighed, shaking her hands out before continuing. 

“I’m also not really the best at trusting people—I don’t know what I’m trying to say—I didn't know why you were trying so hard to befriend with me, and because of my status, I thought that you were taking advantage of me.”

Amity frowned down at her book. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I-I don’t hate you. And sometimes, I even like being around you.... Sometimes.”

It was quiet for a long time. She waited for the brunette to turn around and leave, or maybe leave—but she didn’t. Luz, to her surprise, had a weak smile on her face. “So you actually like me?”

Amity grimaced. “Well—I wouldn’t go that far—but yeah. I like when you’re around.”

All traces of sorrow dissipated from Luz’s face. A grin, albeit uneasy, twisted her lips. “So... does that mean we’re friends?”

Amity rolled her eyes, the corner of her mouth raising slightly. “Don’t let it get to your head, Noceda.”

The brunette chuckled. She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the buzzing of Amity’ phone. 

She pulled the device out from her pocket, looking down at her notifications. “Crap.”

Luz frowned, head tilting to one side. “What’s wrong?”

“Kikimora, my agent, can’t pick me up. She said that something came up and that I would have to walk home.”

Luz looked up at the darkening sky. “You’re going to get soaked!”

Amity shook her head. “I’ll be fine.”

Luz offered her a cheeky grin. She opened up her backpack, pulling out an umbrella. “Why don’t I walk you home? I don’t start work today for a while, so I’ve got plenty of time on my hands.”

Amity frowned. “Are you sure?”

The brunette shrugged in response, rummaging around in her backpack. She pulled out an umbrella and offering it to the actress. “Here, take it.”

As if on cue, the drizzle became a downpour. Luz yelped, dashing underneath the umbrella and into the actress. Amity sucked in a breath when their shoulders brushed. 

Luz spluttered out a laugh. “Sorry. Let’s get going?”

———

The first few minutes of their walk was spent in a comfortable silence, both trying to process the afternoon. Not to the actress’ surprise, the quiet didn’t last long.

“Hey, what did you mean when you said that you didn't trust people?”

Amity’s heart skipped a beat. “Huh?”

Luz shrugged. “You said that you don’t trust people easily. Why not?”

Oh. Crap. 

Should she tell Luz the truth? That her parents hadn’t talked to her since she took a break from acting? That she has no real friends and that everyone wants something from her?

No, she wasn't quite ready for that. Not yet. 

“I guess that trust doesn't come very naturally to me.”

Luz hummed in acknowledgement. “I totally get it.”

“You do?”

Luz kicked a rock, grinning as it skidded across the sidewalk pavement. “Well, I tend to trust others, but I don’t really have a filter. I just say what’s on my mind, no matter how weird... it can get me into a lot of trouble sometimes.”

Amity hummed when they reached the rock. She kicked it this time, smiling as it bounced ahead of them. 

“And you have a job?”

Luz grinned. “Yeah—but it’s really fun—too fun for me to actually consider it an actual job, at least.”

Amity rose an eyebrow. “Where do you work?”

Luz’s tiny smirk broke out into a crooked grin. “A bakery.”

Ohhhhhh! That makes a lot of sense. No wonder wonder Luz ‘Brookies’ were so good. 

“You work at a bakery?”

Luz nodded. “Yup” she popped the ‘P.’ “For a year now. My mom told me that I should get a summer job to keep myself occupied. I ended up loving it so much that I didn't want to stop.”

Amity frowned. 

Luz... liked her job. She herself didn’t know—well, anyone—who actually liked acting. Sure, getting into character and the actual acting in itself was incredible, but it all came at a cost. No privacy, scams, judgement—

Who could ever want that?

But Luz liked her job so much that she kept going back. 

“Why?”

Luz grinned. “A lot of reasons. Baking is fun in itself, but what I like the most is being around Eda and King.”

“Who?”

Luz was silent for a few moments. A small smile worked it’s way onto her face. “Family.”

Amity nodded in response. 

“You know, you should drop by some time! Eda and King would love to meet you.”

Amity rubbed the back of her neck with a shaking hand. “They know about me?”

Luz kicked the rock again, it flying through the air and hitting a curb. “Your agent dropped by a few weeks back. Eda got curious and looked her up... eventually she found out about you.”

Amity’s heart ached when she saw her home in the distance. Kikimora had convinced her to rent a home relatively close to the school, just in case she couldn’t always pick her up. 

Now she wished that she chose I home a little father. Knowing Luz, she would have walked with Amity all the way to Antarctica if that meant being a good friend. 

They slowed to a stop in front of the home. Luz grinned, following her up the front steps and to the porch. 

Amity offered her a forced smile. “Thank you for bringing me home, Luz.”

The brunette grinned. “I’ll see you Monday?”

“Definitely.”

Luz hummed in acknowledgement, turning to walk down the porch steps. She called over her shoulder.

“Let me know when you finish your book, okay? I want to hear what you think!”

And just like that, she was gone.

———

Kikimora barged through the front door, slamming it shut behind her. Her hair and clothes had been drenched by the downpour. It looked as if she had jumped face first into a swimming pool. For all Amity knows, maybe she did.

The actress fought the urge to giggle, lips distorting into a smirk. “Hey.”

Kikimora shot the actress a bemused scowl as she waddled into the house. “Did you get home without too much strife, Miss Blight? I apologize for not picking you up.”

Amity nodded. “I’m good. Luz walked me home, actually.”

Kikimora’s eyes bulged out of their sockets. “Luz walked you home? Why?”

“She wanted to keep me company.”

The agent hummed, eyebrows furrowing. “Oh. That’s kind of her.”

Amity nodded, heart skipping a beat. “Yeah, she really is.... have my parents called today?”

Kikimora didnt bother to answer, taking off her sweater and shuffling over to the kitchen. “What did you and Luz talk about?”

“Her job. She works at a Bakery—Hey—why couldn’t you pick me up?”

The agent pulled off her overcoat. “One of the tires blew out on my way home from the grocery store. The car had to be towed.”

Amity hummed in reply, eyes drifting back down to her book. Nothing could ruin her weekend at this point. Not a grumpy Kikimora, form of transportation, or her absent parents. What mattered was that she made a real friend; someone who didn’t want to use her. 

Today was perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I am really sorry for the delay. I already have the next chapter written (in Luz’s POV) so there should be no other problems.
> 
> I hope you all have a wonderful day!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone!

It had been a month since Amity showed up at Hex High School. Even after her and Luz’s mutual understanding at the library, the actress couldn’t seem to accept that Luz wasn’t using her. 

She still shot Luz glares that could kill, but they weren’t as intimidating anymore. It was more of a twisted inside joke shared between them.

But baby steps! Friendships don’t form overnight. 

Luz knew that Amity was defensive because of her profession. She did all she could to cover up her identity, often burying herself in oversized jackets and thick sunglasses—

The sound of the teacher calling attendance roused Luz’s attention. She groaned when hearing her name, dropping her head to the table. 

Gus offered her a sympathetic smile. “It’s just a chemistry experiment, Luz.” 

It would be an understatement to say that Luz was bad at chemistry. The concepts were easy enough, but experiments? Those were her downfall.

Luz’s biggest flaw was her lack of attention towards instructions.

But hey, if dropping four dozen mentos into a gallon of soda is wrong, Luz didn't want to be right!

The teacher, a grumpy man with round spectacles and a crooked nose, was passing out the instructions. He paused when reaching Luz. 

He hesitantly handed her a paper from the stack in his arms. “Please try not to cause an explosion in the classroom again, Luz.”

She shot him a weak smile.

He finished passing out the papers, returning to the front of the classroom. “Does everyone have a partner?”

Immediatley a hand pops up. Luz stares at the back of Amity’s head, stomach churning. 

The actress cleared her throat. “I’m usually partners with Boscha, but she’s not here today.”

The teacher sighed, eyes scanning the room. “I suppose you can join another group today... Does anyone volunteer?”

Luz whipped her head around, eyes locking with Gus. She nodded, lips twisting into a smirk.

He shook his head. “I don't have a choice in the matter, do I?”

She stood, winking at her chemistry partner before waving her hand in the air. “Gus and I volunteer as tribute!”

Amity turned, eyes widening when landing on Luz.

The teacher frowned. “Did... did you just make a ‘Hunger Games’ reference?”

She shrugged. “Does Amity get to be in our group?”

The teacher rolled his eyes. “Sure.”

Luz cheered, pumping a fist into the air. Amity, begrudgingly, gathered up her things. She shuffled to the back of the room, sitting at the corner of their table. 

Gus offered her a smile, extending his hand. “Hello, I’m Gus Porter! We’ve never talked before, but I was present for the dodgeball incident.”

Amity cringed, hand moving to her cheek. 

His smile wavered for a moment. “Luz, here, is really sorry about it, by the way. Quite frankly, she won’t shut up about it...”

She shook his hand, an indifferent expression on her face. “Amity Blight.”

She then turned to face Luz, eyebrow raising slightly. “Why did you want me to join your group?”

Luz ran a hand through her hair. “It just seemed like you could use some friends. Boscha isn’t here today?”

“She’s at the doctor’s office... or that’s what she told me, at least.”

Luz frowned. Boscha was often missing from classes, doing who knows what. Her excuses ranged from anything between a doctor’s appointment to a funeral. Sometimes, her parents didn’t even bother to call Boscha in as sick. 

Amity didn't know that. 

Gus eyes darted between Luz and the new kid. He couldn’t figure out what was going on between them. There was something off the way Amity stared at Luz when she wasn't looking.   
Was there some kind of strange rivalry or friendship going on?

He cleared his throat, redirecting his attention to the instructions.

“We need to heat up Substance ‘A, B, and C.’ The instructions warn us to be really careful too. If we heat the substance up to quickly, it can boil over—are you listening, Luz? We need to be careful.” 

Luz rolled her eyes. “It’ll be fine. We got this!”

She always said that. And almost every time, something went wrong. 

Amity offered to heat substance ‘A’, and Gus ‘B’, so it was only a matter of Luz not messing up heating ‘C.’

If only it were that simple...

She grabbed the vial with a pair of tongs, holding it over the Bunsen burner. 

That’s when Amity starts talking. Her voice sounded stressed, as if she was being forced to mingle with them. “So, have you two lived here all your lives?”

Gus merely nodded before looking back down at his notebook. 

Luz shook her head. “I used to live in Washington State with my mom, but we moved here because of a job opportunity... that, and a couple other reasons.”

Luz tried to turn the conversation back on Amity. “What about you? Where were you born?”

Amity sighed. “I was raised in California until I was in kindergarten. Then I started moving around because of my parents’ jobs. I’ve lived in thirteen places just last year.”

Luz’s head whipped around, experiment forgotten. “Wait, did you just say thirteen???”

Amity chuckled. “Yeah.”

“Where did you go?”

“Paris, California again, Hawaii, and New Zealand are a few.”

Gus whistled. “That’s a lot of places. That must have been amazing!”

Luz grinned. She subconsciously moved the vial closer to the Bunsen burner. “That’s awesome! What was it like being in such different places?”

“It was nice. I didn't have a lot of time to actually go anywhere though.”

“Which place was your favorite?”

“Definitely Greece. I was able to—LUZ, THE VIAL!”

Luz yelped, removing the vial from the Bunsen burner. The substance inside had boiled over, fizzing and hissing, shooting out of the glass in a foamy mess. 

Multiple kids turned around, eyes wide and mouths a gape. The teacher groaned, scowling at Luz. “Again, Miss Noceda?”

Luz opened her mouth to respond, only to shut it again. 

Why did everything have to go wrong??? She was just trying to get to know Amity better. She didn’t know that the conversation would, literally, blow up in her face!

Crap. 

Luz stared at the teacher with wide eyes. What was she supposed to say?

Luckily, she didn’t have to say anything. 

A hesitant hand landed on Luz’s shoulder. The contact sent chills down her spine, hand flying up to Amity’s.

“It was my fault.”

Um, what???

Oh my god. This was not happening.

Amity mumbled, her voice slow and hesitant. “I asked her a question about the lab. In answering me, she was not focused on the experiment. It was my fault.”

Woah. 

Did Amity Blight, the most unemotional person Luz has ever met, take the blame for something that wasn't her fault?

What???

The teacher’s eyes softened. “Is that true, Luz?”

She spared a glance at Amity from over her shoulder. “Yeah, it is.”

The teacher ran a hand down his face. “You know that I can’t let this one slide, right? This is the fourth experiment that has went wrong because of you, Miss Noceda.”

Amity’s hand dropped from Luz’s shoulder. And for some reason, Luz missed it. The room felt colder somehow. 

Luz spoke slowly, eyes darting between her classmates and teacher. “I’m sorry.”

He sighed. “I am going to have to give you a detention.”

Amity scowled. “But it was my fault! If you should punish anyone, it should be me!”

The teacher rose an eyebrow. “Fine. You can join Miss Noceda in detention.”

Amity’s gaze fell to the floor, lips drawn into a tight line. 

The rest of the class was spent in an uncomfortable silence. Luz recovered what substance they lost and completed the experiment. 

The second the bell rings, Luz is at Amity’s side. “Why did you defend me?”

Amity shrugged. “I understand that you were just preoccupied. You don’t deserve punishment for being nice to me, Luz.”

She stood there, shifting her weight. “Thanks, Amity.”

The actress offered her a grim smile. “I’ll see you in detention, I guess.”

——— 

“This is not funny, Eda!”

Luz winced at the cackling on the other end of her phone. 

She decided to tell the baker about her predicament, and inform her that she couldn’t come into work. When Eda asked why, Luz told her about the experiment.

And not to Luz’s surprise, Eda was in hysterics. 

The baker drew a forced breath, trying to stifle her laughter. “So let me get this straight... this is the fourth time this year that you messed up a chemistry experiment???”

Luz cringed. “Yeah. I’m really sorry that I can’t go into work today. I hope you aren’t too bothered by it...”

“‘Bothered by it???’ Why would I be bothered? I am proud of you, Luz! Scoring detentions were my pastime as a kid! Just ask Principal Bump!”

“I have to go—Lilith is in charge of detention today.”

Eda gasped. “Gross! Tell my sister ‘to stick it where the sun shines’ for me, ‘kay?”

Luz hung up, shuffling over to the English room. She grimaced, face to face with a heavy wooden door. 

She really didn't want to do this.

Lilith opened the door and scowled down at her student. “Hello, Luz. Why am I not surprised that you have detention.... again.”

Luz felt her cheeks heat up. She slipped into the room. 

She broke into a grin when seeing that the only other person in the room was Amity. 

The actress was staring out of the window. Her eyes were glazed over, mouth twisted into a slight frown. It seemed like she was thinking about something.

Lilith patted Luz’s back, a tiny smile on her face. “Why don’t you take a seat next to Miss Blight? I have some work to do, so I would be okay with you two talking together at a low volume. You know the rules; phones are allowed, but no games.”

Luz nodded, skulking her way to the back of the room. She shrugged off her backpack, plopping down in the plastic chair next to Amity. 

The actress’ ever-present scowl slid off her face, now replaced by an indifferent grimace. “Luz.”

She grinned in response. “Heya, Amity, what’s up?”

Amity rose an eyebrow in response.

Luz winced, rubbing the back of her neck. “I know, that was a stupid question...”

The first ten minutes of detention were painfully silent. The only sound in the entire classroom was the clock on the wall and Lilith aggressively slamming the keys on her laptop. Amity seemed perfectly content staring out the window or scowling at the English teacher. 

Or basically, looking at anything but Luz. 

The brunette grimaced. When would the actress learn that Luz was just trying to be her friend?

Well, it was Luz’s fault they were in detention....

She sighed, tired of the silence between them. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Go ahead.”

Luz rubbed the back of her neck. She spared a glance in Lilith’s direction, ensuring that the teacher wasn't listening. “Why, if you don’t mind me asking, did you choose this school to go to? It is kind of a weird choice. Our school’s sports have never made it to state, the social pyramid is cringe worthy, and let’s not even begin to talk about the clubs! So... why choose Hex High School?”

“Why do you think I chose it?”

“Honestly? So no one would recognize you.”

Amity nodded, eyes trained on Luz. “Yeah, that’s why I picked this school. I thought that choosing a place in the middle of nowhere would lessen my chances of being recognized. Obviously, I was wrong.”

Luz hummed. 

Amity grimaced, pulling her phone out from her sweatshirt pocket. She texted something into her it, glaring at the screen.

Luz frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Golden eyes locked with her own. “Nothing.”

Luz crossed her arms. Sarcasm leaked from her voice like venom. “Uh huh, sure.”

Amity’s shoulders sunk in defeat. “It’s just.... I’ve been trying to deal with something my agent has been hounding me for.”

“What?”

“None of your business.”

Luz looked back down at her desk. “Okay.”

Silence lasted for less than a minute. Luz spared a few glances at the actress, who was still staring at her. Amity groaned, throwing her head back. “Fine! I’ll tell you.”

Amity shut her phone off. “You know about my career. I have been having problems maintaining my relevance in the acting world.”

“What do you mean?”

“You see, popularity and relevance is super important. In order to score good roles in a TV show or movie, I need a fan base. When I decided to take a break from acing, I basically put my career on hold. The longer I take a break...”

“The more people lose interest in you?”

“Exactly. My agent wants me to find a way to stay relevant while I’m not acting, maybe even attract more clients. The problem is that I have no idea how to do that.”

Luz blinked slowly. Why was Amity telling her all of this? 

Well—probably because she kept begging her to.

Amity rested her head on the desk. “Do you know how terrifying that is? Not knowing if I’ll have a job tomorrow?”

Luz frowned. The worried expression plastered on Amity’s face made her stomach churn. “Acting seems to be a really stressful job...”

Amity scoffed. “You have no idea!”

Luz hummed, staring down at her desk. “It never crossed my mind how difficult it must be to have such an important job when you’re so young. I can’t even imagine how hard that must be.”

Luz’s eyes fell to Amity’s phone. “Wait, so you’re problem is keeping people interested in you, right?”

Amity scowled. “Yeah, why?”

Luz grinned. “You have social media, right?”

Her eyebrows furrowed, lips parted slightly. “Yes, but Kikimora usually takes care of my posts for me.”

“So why don’t you start actually using it, you know, like a regular teen would? Take selfies of yourself around town, post fun childhood stories, host a bad pun contest? I know—as a fan— that I love if a celebrity tried connecting with their fan base more!”

Amity’s eyes widened. “Do you really think something like that could work?”

“I don’t know, maybe?”

Amity’s eyes darted between her phone and Luz. A tiny smile slid onto her face. “I’ll ask Kikimora what she thinks.”

She typed into her phone, sending a lengthy text to her agent. Within seconds and Amity gets a text back. 

For the first time since they met, a massive grin works itself onto Amity’s face. 

She cheered. “Kikimora thinks it’s a great idea! She said that I could maybe write a blog too, share my experiences as a teenage actress!”

Luz grinned. “That’s awesome—

Lilith slammed her fist on the desk, glaring over at her students. “Can you lower the volume, PLEASE? Essays do NOT grade themselves.”

Luz and Amity cringed. 

The actress smiled over at Luz. She mouthed the words ‘Thank you’ before turning back to her device.

The rest of detention was spent with giddy smiles and hushed conversation. Lilith kicked them out about half an hour early, annoyed beyond sanity by the two. 

Luz practically ran home that day, grinning like an idiot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> I am crazy exited to share the next couple of chapters with everyone. Writing this story has been so much fun and I can’t wait to share more of it with you!
> 
> I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the weekend. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a looong time to edit! But here it is, everyone!
> 
> I want to thank everyone who has read, liked, and/or commented. You are all amazing, and it inspires me to continue writing. 
> 
> So this chapter’s for you! I hope you enjoy it!

Amity glowered at her computer screen. 

What does one write in a blog??? About her life, obviously, but what in specific? Does she just jump right in or does she need to have an introduction to who she is?

The only thing Amity had typed in the past hour was ‘Ughhhhhhhh’. 

Writer’s block sucked.

She jumped when hearing a loud knock on her door. She exhaled loudly, heart racing. 

“Come in.”

The door swung open, revealing Kikimora holding a cup of coffee. She walked over and placed it on Amity’s desk. “How’s the blog going?”

“It’s not.”

Kikimora squinted at the screen. “Wait—have you only written ‘ughhhhhhh?’

Amity scoffed at the disbelief on her agent’s face. “It’s just... I’m stuck. What do I write? How?”

Kikimora hummed, eyebrows furrowing. “Well, why don’t you start with who you are? Remind your readers that you are taking a temporary leave of absence and that you wanted to write a blog about your experiences as a normal girl in high school.”

Amity grabbed the mug, bringing the rim to her lips. “So just write?”

“Yes. Write whatever comes to mind about your experience so far. Maybe about teachers, extra circulars, friends.”

Amity hummed. She could do that. If all she had to do was write what came to mind, it should be relatively easy. 

Kikimora slid out of the room as Amity began to type. 

She wrote about her first day of school. How friendly (although strange) her principal and teachers were. She made up funny fake names for each person and place she had seen, in order to protect identities. She talked about how no one recognized her as an actress. 

Well, no one except Luz. 

Realization hit Amity like a truck. She going to be writing about Luz...

She wanted to write everything and nothing about the brunette all at once. She wanted to explain how they met, Luz’s radiant grin, and her tendency to ramble. 

But whatever she ended up writing, she erased, a specific fear in the back of her mind. 

What if Luz decided to read the blog?

Eventually, Amity managed to type out a couple tiny paragraphs. 

‘There’s only one person that I know recognizes me. Obviously I can’t use her real name for privacy purposes, so I’ll call her Sunshine. It’s the only fake name I can think of that describes her. No really, she’s practically sunshine personified. So Sunshine immediatley recognized me. She gasped when first seeing me walk into the classroom. At the end of the day, she came over and introduced herself. She could barely get a coherent sentence out when talking to me!  
I was kind of nervous around Sunshine at first. The reason I took a break from work was to have a normal teenage experience. I didn’t need someone ruining that chance. But Sunshine really proved me wrong. She’s fun, in a strange, chaotic way. She actually hit my face with a dodgeball the first week of school... that was an experience. But I was kind of asking for it. Although I would never admit it to her face, I think that she’s cool.’ 

Amity wanted to write so much more about Luz. And she did... before deleting it all from her desktop. She didn’t know why she wanted to tell her fans so much about Luz. There was just something about her that Amity wanted to tell the world about.

Kikimora gave the blog a once over before giving Amity the nod of approval. She posted it and watched as the views poured in. 

By the time she woke up the next morning, she had thousands of views on it. She grinned when seeing how many people had liked or subscribed to her blog. There were even a few comments too. She scrolled through them. 

Most comments were just people thanking her for starting up a blog or fangirling about the shows she was in.

About half way through them, Amity’s heart froze. She stared down at a single comment, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. 

‘I know that you might not see this comment, but I was hoping that you can maybe tell us more about Sunshine and the other students going to your school. It was really fun reading that part of your blog.’

She stared down at the comment. After some more scrolling, Amity realized that a massive amount of requests asked the same. Some asked about her teachers, some about the town she was in, others about friends.’

But, more and more often, questions about the mysterious ‘Sunshine’ popped up. 

———

Amity snuck into Hex High School on Monday like she was she was being hunted. 

What if people recognized her—or worse—read her blog?

The actress let go of a long held breath, skulking through the halls with her head down. To her surprise, no one noticed her. 

About five minutes of sneaking through the halls later and she sees Luz. Her heart hammers in her ribcage. 

Did Luz read her blog?

Crap.

She grimaced at Luz, who was frowning at a poster on the wall. 

She would have to confront Luz eventually, right?

Amity creeped over, white knuckling the strap of her book bag. “Luz?”

The brunette hummed in response, still looking up at the poster. “Heya, Amity. How was your weekend?”

Amity rose an eyebrow. “Er... good. Did you read it?”

“Read what? Oh crap—did we have English homework???”

“No, I was talking about my blog. Did you read any of it?”

Luz frowned. “I wasn’t planning to... I thought that I should respect your privacy. I know that you like to keep school separated from celebrity life. And besides, I already know what you’re experiencing here, right? Since we’re friends and all.”

Relief washed over the actress. She pushed the blog from her mind, forcing a smile. “What are you up to?”

Luz turned back at the poster on the wall. “I was thinking about joining an extra curricular. I have way too much free time on my hands at this point. I only work with Eda for a few hours a week, so I have nothing else to do.”

“What clubs are you thinking about?”

“Maybe chess—er—never mind... I already got kicked out of Band, Cheerleading, and creative writing—OH!”

She whipped around to face Amity, a ecstatic grin on her face. “What if I audition for a part in the school play? Auditions are this Friday and— 

She gasped. “You can audition with me, Amity! That way we could spend more time together!”

Amity cringed. “I don’t think so...”

“Why not?”

“Acting on screen is drastically different than in a play, and I...” The words died at the back of her throat.

Luz blinked slowly. “What?”

Amity grimaced. “I have stage fright. Besides, I have soccer practices after school.”

Luz was eerily still for a moment, eyes wide. “You’re stage fright? Really?”

Amity huffed, rolling her eyes. “Only when performing in front of a live audience. Directors and other actors are fine, but too many people freak me out. A lot.”

Luz rubbed the back of her neck, cheeks reddening. “Oh... I didn’t know that.”

“But If you want, I can still help with your audition. If you needed advice, or something?”

Luz nodded, lips twisting into a grin. “That would be amazing! Hey, why don’t you stop by Eda’s Bakery after school tomorrow? I’ll give you free food in return for your acting knowledge!”

Amity’s eyes fell to her tennis shoes. She weighed the pros and cons of going to the bakery. 

Pros:

She could get to know Luz better.  
Meeting the infamous ‘Eda and King’ that Luz always talks about.  
Free food. 

Cons:

She could get recognized. Once someone posts her whereabouts, it was game over. Everyone would know who she was... 

Free food outweighs the risk of recognition, apparently. 

Amity hesitantly nodded. “Sure. I would love to.”

———

Amity pushed her sunglasses up the bridge her nose with a finger. She grimaced at herself in the mirror, stomach churning. 

The actress pulled out all the stops to avoid someone recognizing her. Massive sunglasses, a baseball cap, an oversized sweatshirt. 

And she looked ridiculous.

Kikimora was still in the kitchen, eating a sandwich. “Have... fun? Is that something I’m supposed when my ‘child’ goes on a date?”

Amity’s face burned. “Wait, what makes you think that this is a date???”

The agent clucked her tongue. “Well, you stood in front of your mirror for around an hour. And you tried on six different outfits—

“That had nothing to do with Luz—I was just trying to—ugh!”

She stumbled out the door in a jumbled heap, ignoring the amused expression on Kikimora’s face. 

Stupid agent... stupid acting...

Amity trudged down the street, breathing in the cool autumn air. Her mind raced. 

Why did Kikimora think her hanging out with Luz was a date? She must have been teasing her, right? That must be it.

But Kikimora had never been one to tease anyone... ever. 

She pushed it to the back of her mind, pulling out her phone. She stared down at the list of saved contacts, grimacing. 

She pressed onto her mom’s contact, bringing the device to her ear. 

She had to answer sometime, right? 

Not to her surprise, Amity went straight to voicemail. She hesitantly left a message.

“Hey, mom. It’s been a while since we’ve talked. Can you just.... can you call please?”

Her mood officially ruined, Amity found herself standing outside of the bakery.

Well, crap.

Maybe she shouldn’t have come. If she just turned around and walked away—

She shook her head at the thought. Luz needed her help. 

She walked up the steps to the bakery, pushing the door open. 

The sound of a tiny bell dings through the bakery. She looked above her at the source of the sound. 

Well, there was no going back now. 

She shuffled further inside, walking up to the counter. A young boy, maybe ten, was sitting on a stool by the cashier, head ducked. He was failing at puzzling out a strange kind of Rubik’s cube. 

He looked up. “Hey tiny human, can I get you anything?”

Well, that wasn’t the reaction she was expecting. At least he didn’t recognize her, right?

She wrung her hands. “I’m looking for Luz Noceda? She invited me here to study.”

The boy’s eyes widened. “Ohhhhh! You’re Amity Blight!”

The actress grimaced. “Unfortunately.”

The kid chuckled (or cackled, more like) and jumped down from the stool. He struggled to reach over the counter, extending a hand. “The name’s King!”

Amity offered him a shy smile, shaking his hand. “It’s wonderful to meet you, King.”

He offered her a toothy grin. “Come to the kitchen with me! Luz and Eda are experimenting back there.”

Amity’s mind flashed back to about a month ago, when Luz had given her the Brookies. They were, although appearing to be appalling, was delicious. So that must have been an experiment. 

“Do they ‘experiment’ a lot?”

King rolled his eyes, leading her around the counter and through swinging doors. “It’s Eda’s favorite pastime! She and Luz experiment twice a week. At least.”

Amity whistled. 

The moment Amity pushes through the doors, her eyes lock with brown. the brunette was standing by a counter, flour caking her hands and apron. A floury handprint lied forgotten on her cheek. 

Luz grinned. “Heya, Amity!”

The woman next to Luz turned on a dime. She wore an apron over loose sweatpants and sweatshirt. A pair of golden eyes contrasted her pale complexion. Like Luz, she was dusted in a layer of flour. She held a batter-covered spoon in her hand.

The woman’s eyes darted between Luz and Amity. “Is this your actress friend, kiddo?”

Luz nodded. Grabbing Eda’s hand and dragging her over. “This is Amity.”

Eda grinned down at her, extending a floury hand. “Nice to meet ya. Luz has told me a lot about you!”

Huh. 

Luz coughed uncomfortably. “Um, Amity, this is Eda Clawthorne. She’s the owner of the bakery.”

Amity frowned. “Clawthorne? Is there a relation between you and Ms. Clawthorne? She’s a teacher at Luz and my school.”

“Lilith? Yeah, we’re sisters.”

Amity nodded. “What are you baking?”

Eda shrugged. “I don’t really know. I think it’s supposed to be some mix between a cinnamon roll and a lemon bar....”

Amity grinned. There was something about Eda and King that was, although strange, comforting. No wonder Luz felt so close to them. 

Eda ruffled Luz’ hair, consequently getting flour into it. “Why don’t you make her some hot chocolate in the front and work on the audition? King and I can handle everything from here.”

Luz nodded, grabbing Amity’s hand. She grimaced, her hand now also covered in flour. 

And no, her heart wasn’t racing. Definitely not.

Luz’s dragged her towards the entrance of the bakery. 

She found herself sitting at a table across from the brunette, hands wrapped around a cup of hot chocolate. Luz was staring down at a harshly marked script.

She looked around the cafe. The few people around were working on their computer or fooling around on their phone. 

Luz grinned, eyes darting awkwardly between the paper and Amity. “Should I start?”

Amity nodded, taking a sip from her hot chocolate. “Go for it.”

Luz took a deep breath and began to recite. 

Amity immediatley recognized the play as Romeo and Juliet.

Luz got through her recitation. 

Amity hummed. “It’s a good start.”

Luz smiled shyly. “What can I do to fix it?”

The actress stood. “For one, never sit when you’re reciting. Stand as if you were on a stage, reciting to a group.”

Luz nodded, also standing.

“Okay, good. You also need to be more confident. You seemed really timid when you were speaking.”

“Anything else?”

Amity shrugged. “Recite for me again.”

About couple rounds later and she sighs. “I think I know what’s going wrong.”

“What?”

“You see, acting is not playing a character.”

Luz frowned. “What do you mean?”

The actress crossed her arms. “People often mistake acting for playing a character. In truth, acting is just playing another version of yourself. Does that make sense?”

“Er.... no?”

Amity sighed. “Maybe do you want me to recite? It might give you some ideas.”

Luz nodded, sitting back down to watch. 

Amity skimmed over the monologue. If it’s one thing she’s learned from years of acting, it was how to memorize quickly. Within two minutes, she had half of it all memorized. She might not know the words by heart, but it was enough to get through this. 

She took a deep breath, shaking her hands out. 

And she acted. 

It was all second nature to her by now. She got lost in the words, got lost in the emotions she had to convey. 

And, if Amity was focused enough, everyone would disappear around her.

She finished her last line, a sense of contentment washing over her. 

It had been so long since she had acted just for thrill of it. Amity hadn’t realized how much she had missed it. 

But she did. 

She looked back at Luz. 

The brunette’s mouth was hanging open, eyes glinting with admiration. 

Amity frowned. “What’s wrong? Did I accidentally miss a line?”

Luz shook her head, a massive grin on her face. “That. Was. Incredible!!”

The brunette shot out of her chair. She absently reached down, holding Amity’s hands in her own. “Like—oh my gosh—I’ve never seen anything like that before. It was like you were actually Romeo!”

Amity’s face burned, eyes darting down to their entwined hands. She could feel the warmth radiating from Luz. 

“Well, half the battle of playing a role in a movie, or play, is feeling. In order to get others invested in the scene, you have to convince them that the character is real.”

Luz nodded, pulling her hands from Amity’s. The actress decided to ignore the disappointment churning in her gut.

“Can I try again? I think I understand what I need to do.”

Amity nodded, sitting back down and taking another sip of her hot chocolate. 

Luz had drastically improved. Amity would be willing to bet that she was a natural performer. It was crazy how quickly she picked up on the actress’ tips and tricks. 

Within an hour, Amity had nothing left to say. Sure, Luz definitely acted differently than Amity, but everyone has their unique style. That’s what makes acting so fascinating. 

By the end, much to Amity’s dismay, the entire bakery was watching. Everyone who had been zoned out before was now listening attentively to Luz and Amity. Even Eda and King came to the front to watch. What was worse, everyone applauded at the end. 

So much for keeping a low profile...

But seeing the exited expression on Luz’s face was worth it, every lopsided smile that formed whenever she nailed a couplet. 

Seeing Luz happy was worth the risk of her being recognized. 

And that realization scared Amity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought, maybe?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! 
> 
> And woah, thank you so much for the comments last chapter. They all really made my day! :)
> 
> I hope that you enjoy this chapter!

Luz wrung her hands, bottom lip trembling. “What if I mess up? What if the drama teacher thinks I’m not acting enough—or worse—what if I’m overacting?!?”

Amity hummed in acknowledgement, flipping a page in her book. “You’re going to do great, Luz. I know you will.”

The brunette just groaned, resting her head on the library table. After school today is auditions for the play. 

Or in more detail, seven hours until she is brutally rejected by the drama teacher and laughed at for not being good enough—

“Luz, calm down.”

“I am calm!”

Amity rolled her eyes, closing her book and rummaging through her book bag. She pulled out a pack of gum, shoving a stick in Luz’s hand. “Here. This will help.”

“How can a stick of gum help??”

Amity chuckled. “Whenever I get nervous before auditioning, I chew gum. I don’t know why, but it helps a lot.”

Luz grumbled. She stuck the gum in her mouth. “How do you not freak out whenever you audition for anything?”

“I do. Every time.”

Luz almost choked on her gum. “You get nervous when auditioning?”

A amused smirk toyed with the corner of Amity’s lips. “Of course I do! Everyone I’ve met in the acting world does. No one likes facing a judgmental crowd of people and being expected to recite perfectly. I bombed auditions all the time.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. Back when I was starting out, I would have been lucky to score one role for every hundred auditions.”

Luz whistled. “That’s crazy.”

Amity just shrugged. “You got this, Luz. This is a school play, not a death sentence. And we’ve practiced for this. You’ll be amazing—

A new voice rung from across the school library. “Amity?”

Luz’s head swiveled in the direction of the voice. 

Oh... Boscha. 

A pair of grey eyes bore into the brunette like daggers. “Oh... hey, Luz.”

She rolled her eyes before smirking at Amity, a dangerous glint in her eyes. “I was wondering if you could walk with me to class? There was something in the homework from last night I wanted to ask you about.”

Luz never wanted to punch someone’s face in as much as Boscha’s. She was such a jerk! All she wanted was the answers to some stupid algebra assignment. Couldn’t Amity see that she was being used?

She looked over at the actress. Amity sighed, eyes shifting between Luz and the pack of gum in her hands. “I guess so.”

Then she did something Luz didn’t expect. 

She stood, shoving the pack of gum in her hands. “Here. Use as many as you want.”

Luz grinned up at the actress. “Thanks.”

“Just... break a leg, okay? You’ll crush that audition.”

Before Amity could leave, Luz grabbed her wrist. “I was actually wondering... can you come to auditions with me?”

Amity was inhumanly still for about a minute. She bit her lip, nodding. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

Boscha’ s mouth hung open. “What about soccer practice? It’s right after school, you know.”

Amity shrugged. “I can miss one day, can’t I? Besides, I’d rather be there for Luz.”

Luz grinned sheepishly. “Thanks, Amity.”

Boscha just snorted, planting a hand on the actress’ shoulder and urging her towards the exit.

———

Luz had powered through the entire gum pack by the end of school. How that was possible, she had no idea. 

Amity met up with her the second gym ended, backpack slung over her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Luz responded with a sound between a wail and a whimper. 

Amity offered her a tiny smile. “Come on, you don’t want to be late.”

Luz and the actress walked in a comfortable silence until they were standing outside of the theater. 

The brunette grimaced, pushing through the doors. 

She was surprised to see so many people auditioning. A long line of students waited for their turn on stage. Some were, like Luz, extremely nervous. A few even looked as if they might spontaneously combust. 

Others were overconfident. They had smirks on their faces as they watched the current student on the stage, who was busy stumbling over their own words. 

Amity cringed at the mixed crowd. A familiar grimace replaced her smile. “Er—no pressure—you’ll do great.”

Luz reached down, searching for a hand to hold. 

She didn’t know what influenced her to do it. Maybe it was because she was going haywire from nerves, maybe she needed a friend, needed something to ground her. 

To her surprise, a hesitant hand entwines with hers. She looked behind her, eyes locking with golden. Immediatley her stomach stopped churning. 

Something about Amity calmed her, slowed her down. 

No one’s been able to do that to Luz before. Not even Eda or King.

Huh.

She pushed the thought to the back of her mind, offering the actress a nervous smile. “I’m sorry, but do you mind talking for a bit? I’m kinda nervous, and I want to think about something else other than the play.”

Amity hummed. “Well, I guess I can tell you about my first audition. I believe that I was... Eight? Nine?”

Luz gasped. “Really? That’s young.”

“Very. I was terrified, maybe even more nervous than you are now.”

“What happened?”

“Well, I got in front of the directors and bombed it. I stood in front of them like a robot, terrified of overacting.”

Amity sighed. “But, turns out, I got a second chance. They said that they liked my personality and would be willing to give me another shot... and I nailed it. My agent got a phone call less than a week later, informing her that I got the part.”

Luz nodded, bitting down on her lower lip. The only thing keeping her relaxed at this point was Amity’s hand in hers. She focused her attention on the actress, listening to her endless stories of auditioning and experiences on a movie set

Next thing she knew, only her, Amity, and the drama teacher were left in the room. 

Great. 

The drama teacher smiled at her. “You’re up!”

It was almost painful to pull away from Amity. Luz skulked her way to the stage, legs shaking. She wouldn’t be surprised if they gave out under her. 

She turned to face the drama teacher. 

Next to him was Amity, looking up at her with a assuring—albeit tight—smile. 

The teacher smiled. “Whenever you’re ready, Luz.”

Luz shut her eyes, taking a deep breath. 

She could still hear Amity’s voice in the back of her head. So when she opened her eyes, she only focused on the actress. It was as if the drama teacher didn’t exist at all. 

She was back in Eda’s bakery, just the two of them practicing. 

So she acted. 

Luz somehow was able to incorporate every one of Amity’s pointers into her performance. Whenever she felt like she was losing herself, she would focus back on the girl with golden eyes. 

Luz’s recitation was over before she knew it. 

The drama teacher seemed to be stricken to a silence, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. 

Did she forget a line? Maybe she went too fast? 

Why was he looking at her like that???

Luz shifts her weight, wringing her hands. “How’d I do?”

The teacher brought a hand to the back of his neck. “Have you acted in a play before?”

Luz shook her head. Her heat rammed against her ribcage. 

He hummed, eyes glinting as he spoke. “How did you learn to act like that? It was brilliant!”

Suddenly she was able to breathe. Luz was starting to think that she completely bombed it.

“Well—I—uh....”

She looked back down at Amity. 

“A friend helped me. It’s all thanks to her.”

The teacher turned to look at Amity. “Are you the friend she’s speaking of?”

Amity slowly nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

“You really taught her how to act like that?”

“Uh... yes?”

The teacher hummed, eyes shifting between the girls. “If you were to give Luz any pointers on her performance, what would it be?”

Amity looked up at the brunette. “It was a little quiet at the beginning, but I believe it must have been nerves. The only other thing I thought needed work was her posture. Maybe she could have relaxed a little more.”

He nodded in acknowledgement. “I thought so too. What’s your name?”

“Amity.”

“Well... have you thought about auditioning?”

Her eyes grew wide in panic. “No!—I mean—I’m stage fright. I couldn’t get on a stage in front of an entire crowd.”

The teacher hummed. “Well... have you ever thought about directing? I’m looking for one or two co-directors for when I can not make it to rehearsals, and it appears you have a knack for it. would you mind maybe doing that?”

Luz grinned. “That’d be awesome, Amity! You could be a director!”

Amity hummed. “I’ll... think about it.”

The teacher nodded. “Alright. The spot is always open, if you are willing to give it a chance.”

He looked back up at Luz. “And back to you, Luz... I can assure you that you passed auditions. Actually, I think I already know which role I will give you too.”

She and Amity left the theater with massive grins on their faces.

———

Eda hummed, watching Luz as she baked. King was next to the kid, still fiddling with a half-completed Rubik’s cube.

She couldn’t put her finger on it. The kid had been grinning nonstop for her entire shift, which accumulated to about two straight hours. 

Luz seemed far away too. She merely replied to most questions with a hum.

So finally, Eda bites the bullet. “How did auditions go?”

Luz immediatley whipped around, eyes wide. “Incredible! Oh my gosh, you won’t believe—

Eda grinned as Luz rambled, crossing her arms and leaning against the kitchen counter.

Luz was extremely talkative. Eda had learned over the past year how to listen to the kid. If one were to brave through the endless babble, they could see the wisdom in her words. That’s probably what Eda loved about the kid the most.

So she listens to Luz as they bake. 

And a particular name keeps popping up. 

Actually, Amity had been a main subject in the bakery ever since she had shown up to the school. 

At first Eda didn’t realize it. She just thought Luz was fangirling over some insignificant actress. Eda was even a little worried that Amity would be a jerk, maybe even hurt Luz. 

But boy was she wrong. If anything, Amity and Luz had started befriending each other. 

Luz’s shift ended too soon. She hung up her apron before hugging Eda and King. The brunette called from over her shoulder as she fled the bakery. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Love you both!”

King was groaned the second the door shuts. 

Eda raises an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

He rolled his eyes, looking back down at his Rubik’s cube. “Amity’s all Luz talks about now.”

“So?”

King’s nose wrinkled up in disgust. “Why? How can Luz talk about someone so much? I just don’t get it...”

The baker just smiled, ruffling King’s hair. He was too young to understand Luz’s predicament. Hell, Luz was too oblivious herself to see what was going on! 

Heck, maybe Eda was just overthinking it and Luz was just super exited to have made a new friend!

But the baker couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more to the giddy smiles Luz wore when talking of the actress. 

———

Luz was passing through the halls the next week when she saw it. Plastered to a cork board was a bright pink sheet, listing off the students who made it through auditions. She paused, looking for her name. 

Her heart froze when she saw that her name was at the very top.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SO exited to post the next chapter. I had so much fun writing it and am impatiently waiting to share it with you all!
> 
> Have a wonderful weekend~!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you SO MUCH for all the love and support! It has been a real blast writing this story, and I am touched by all the wonderful kudos and comments I have received. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

“Amity!!”

The actress jumped, head swiveling in the direction of the voice. “Wha—

Luz, who had turned around a corner at the speed of light, skidded to a stop. “We did it!!!”

“Did what??? Luz—

Next thing Amity knew, she was trapped in a hug. Her breath hitched, eyes widening. 

Immediatley her face is burning. Amity would be willing to bet her cheeks had turned to an unnatural shade of pink. She could feel Luz’s heartbeat banging against her ribcage. 

Hugs were something that Amity was far from used to. She couldn’t remember the last time she was embraced by anyone. Most of her family was off making it big in Hollywood, and Kikimora was far from the cuddling type. 

Had it really been so long since she had last hugged anyone? Amity had forgotten how comforting it was. 

The brunette cheered, voice ringing in the actress’ ears. 

“We did it!! I got a part in the play!!!”

“For the school play?”

Luz broke away from her, nodding enthusiastically. 

Amity offered her a gummy grin. “What part did you get?”

“Romeo!”

“That’s amazing, Luz! I knew you could do it!”

A girl with circular glasses walks over with a shy smile on her face. Amity had often seen her around Luz, especially at lunch and before school. what was her name? Wiley? Willow? They had never talked with each other before, aside from a quick ‘hello’ in the halls. 

The girl rested a hand on the brunette’s shoulder “What’s going on, Luz?”

Just like Amity had, the girl with circular glasses is crushed in a hug. 

A tiny flare sparked up at the bottom of the actress’ stomach. It took her a moment to identify what it was. Amity shook her head in spite of herself, pushing her feelings aside. There was no reason for her to be jealous. Luz had many friends, including her.

Luz grinned. “I got a main part in the school play, Willow!”

The girl cheered in response, lips twisting into a smile. “That’s incredible!”

Luz turned her attention back to the actress. “Amity helped me.”

Willow smiled, turning to look at the actress. “You helped her?”

“I—uh—yeah. But Luz didn’t need much help. She’s a natural.”

Suddenly Amity is wrapped in another hug, although this one less violent. 

What is it with these people and hugging???

Willow let go, dropping back next to Luz. “We should celebrate!”

Luz gasped. “YES! We could go to the movies!”

A familiar voice sounds off from behind Amity. “And perhaps dinner too?”

Amity turned to look at Gus. He must have walked over after Willow had. 

Luz grinned. “Did you hear the news?”

He nodded. “I saw the list on the cork board near the Cafeteria. That’s awesome, Luz! ”

Willow nodded. “So should we go see a movie and then have dinner?”

Luz grinned. “That sounds perfect! I’ll text you both the time and day? Oh—Amity—I’ll need your number.”

Amity froze. “Wait, why? You’re inviting me too?”

Willow rolled her eyes and smiled. “Of course you are! Why wouldn’t you?”

Luz dug into her jacket pocket, pulling out a phone. She dropped it into Amity’s hands. “Could you maybe put your information in?”

Amity spent the next minute plugging in her number and email into a contact. She hands it back, leaving Luz to fill in her name. 

Luz plugged in a couple more things into her phone before putting it away.

——— 

Over the next couple of days, Amity finds herself being sucked further into Luz’s world. Much to her surprise, all three students ensured that she was included in every conversation. Both Willow and Gus seemed interested in getting to know her, asking endless questions about her childhood and family. It’s was incredible how easy it was for them to adapt to the actress’ presence. It was like Amity had always been there.

The group had decided to meet up at the movies the next Friday. After a lot of begging, Kikimora begrudgingly agreed to it. 

———

Amity tucked her hands into her jacket pockets, breath visibly hanging in the air. It was almost dark out, the sun having set a while ago. She had just finished soccer practice and was gathering her gear together. Boscha was next to her, lying face down in the grass. 

She whined, voice muffled by the ground. “I’m tired!”

Amity chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Me too.”

Boscha sat up, running a hand down her face. “Hey, what are you doing tomorrow? Skara and I were planning on going bowling and thought you might wanna join...”

Amity shook her head. She stood, throwing her duffle bag over a shoulder. “Sorry, I already have plans.”

Boscha visibly deflated. A cold smile barely masked her disappointment. “With who?”

“Luz and a couple of her friends.”

The athlete scoffed, a poisonous grimace on her lips. “You’re hanging out with her? Why?”

Amity ignored the anger boiling up inside her, taking a calming breath. 

“She’s my friend.”

“It’s your funeral, Amity. I already warned you to stay away from that freak.”

Amity white-knuckled the strap of her duffle bag. “What’s so wrong with her, anyways? Why do you hate her so much?”

“She’s—I don’t know—Strange! Everything she touches explodes or simultaneously combusts. All her goofy experiments wind up getting entire classes in trouble! How could anyone like her?”

Amity looked down at the ground. 

Boscha was wrong. Sure, she was definitely chaotic, but she never hurt anyone. Nothing she had done deserved this kind of judgment. 

She spoke through gritted teeth. “I gotta go. Maybe I’ll hang out with you next time, okay?”

Boscha slowly nodded. “Sure... next time.”

Amity is storming off of the soccer field when her phone vibrates. She pulls it out, eyes widening. She brought the device to her ear. She hears a familiar voice on the other end. 

“Amity!”

“Luz? What’s going on?”

“Not much. I wanted to make sure we’re still on for tomorrow?”

Amity hummed in affirmation. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. 

“Awesome! Er... What are you up to?”

“Just finished soccer. You?” 

“I’m taking a short break from work...” There was a long moment of silence before Luz continued. “Also I have a really weird question I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

Amity’s stomach flipped. “What about?”

There was a soft chuckle from the other end. “Let’s just say that you somehow attained a magical lamp, yeah?”

Amity blinked slowly. All anger from her conversation with Boscha having dissipated. “Uh.... Okay?”

“Good. If a Genie were to pop out of it and offer you three wishes, what would you ask for?”

A bark of laughter escaped Amity’s lips. “Why do you ask?”

Luz chuckled. “I’m bored! Besides, I ask all my friends these questions...”

Amity couldn't help a gummy grin from forming on her lips. Luz was such a dork!

“Um....”

She hummed to herself, biting down on her bottom lip. What would she ask for?

“I would want a cat, maybe?”

“Yeah? What else?”

Amity rolled her eyes. “I would kill for more time off.”

“One last wish, Amity. Make it a good one!”

“A swimming pool.”

Luz chirped. Amity could almost see the wide grin on the brunette’s face. 

“How about you, Luz? What would you wish for?”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhh—Oh!—I would ask for a pizza.... Also a kazoo and...”

It was quiet for a long minute. “I would ask for an acceptance at a culinary school.”

“Really?”

“Totally! I love baking and cooking! I want to try culinary school, maybe take a couple business classes, and open a restaurant up somewhere.”

Amity grinned. She could imagine Luz owning a restaurant or bakery somewhere in Los Angeles, greeting her customers with a warm smile. 

“That’s awesome, Luz!”

“Okay, next question; what’s your favorite time of year?”

“Winter.”

“Why?”

Amity smiled, footfalls echoing through the parking lot. She tumbled into her agent’s car. 

Kikimora opened her mouth to speak before eyes landing on the phone. Then she just nodded, starting the car and driving out of the lot. 

Amity clucked her tongue. “There’s something unique about winter. It’s a season where you can grab a mug of hot chocolate and stay inside, maybe read a book. What’s your favorite season?”

“Definitely summer.”

“How come?”

Luz cackled from the other end. “No school, duh!”

Amity chuckled. “Why am I not surprised?”

There was a commotion on the other end of the phone before Luz spoke again. “I have to go. Eda wants help in making a new ice-blended drink. I can’t wait to go to the movies with you tomorrow!”

“Me too.”

Amity ended the call, tucking her phone into her duffle bag. Kikimora stared at the actress through the review mirror. “Who was that on the phone?”

“Luz.”

Kikimora’s lips twisted into a smirk. “Really? How is she?”

Amity shrugged. “She’s at work.”

“Why did she call?”

“Just to check up on me, I think.”

Kikimora’s smile widened to a grin. “Ah.”

“What?”

The agent rolled her eyes, face returning to one of stone. “Er—nothing—And how was practice?”

“It was.... fine. Boscha was kind of a jerk today.”

Kikimora hummed. “What makes you say that?”

“She judges people without a second thought. How could someone care so little about others?”

“Who was she talking about?”

Amity froze. And somehow, within seconds of changing the conversation, she was talking about Luz again. Huh. 

“I—uh—a couple people I know.”

Kikimora sighed. “And what does that say about Boscha?”

“What do you mean?”

The car slowed to a stop, Kikimora pulling off to the side of the road. She pulled the brake, twisting to face the actress. 

“Look, Amity. I think it’s time you decide who your friends are.”

“What?”

Kikimora offered her a sympathetic grimace. “You have been juggling too many relationships. You’re trying to be on everyone’s side and it’s tearing you up. I think it’s time you chose a group of people to settle down with.”

Amity shifted, suddenly uncomfortable under her agent’s glare. “But how do I break things off? Should I break off from Boscha or Luz?”

Kikimora’s scowl softened into a knowing smile. “I think we both know who you’d choose, Amity.”

Winking, her agent releases the break and pulls back into the street.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I understand that this chapter is filler, but I promise the wait is 100% worth it. Next chapter is really huge (both in word count, which at the moment is over 4,000 words, and plot wise). That being said, I also want to let you know that after the next chapter is released, I will be taking a ‘winter break’ of sorts. I plan on being on a hiatus until early January (3rd to 6th being latest). 
> 
> [UPDATE!!! I am sorry for the late notice, but I want to let everyone know that the chapter will come out in two weeks instead of one, because of important obligations. Still, as always, it will be out on a Saturday (December 19th). As most of you probably are aware of, the end of the year can get pretty hectic! I am sorry for the wait, but once again, the next chapter will be worth it!]


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took forever, everyone! BUT!!! I was able to get this chapter to a little short of 5000 words. And a lot of stuff happens too. For those who didn’t know, I apologize for the late chapter. I was a victim of the end of the year rush! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it!

Luz’s POV!

A pair of chocolate-brown eyes dart between a clock on the wall and the flour caking her hands. 

Luz bit down on her bottom lip, mind racing. 

There was only ten minutes left. 

In ten—no—nine minutes and thirty seconds, she would have to practically sprint home from the bakery in order to get ready on time. The theater was considerably close to her home, but anything could happen. If she wasn’t careful, Luz could be really late! She did only have an hour after work until—

Eda chuckled from across the room, her golden eyes glinting.

Luz frowned, head tilting to the side. “What?”

Eda walked over, ruffling the brunette’s hair. “You must be nervous for tonight, huh?”

“What makes you say that?”

Eda hummed. “Maybe the fact that you have been kneading dough for about fifteen minutes now.”

Luz frowned down at the dough in her hands, stomach churning. She had been so zoned out that she had overworked it, now tough and difficult to handle. “I don’t know why, but I’m terrified! Why is this so nerve wrecking??? I hang out with Gus and Willow all the time after school—This shouldn’t be a big deal...”

Eda grinned. “Let me guess. Do your troubles begin with a ‘A’, end with a ‘Y’, and have teal hair?”

Luz merely winced in reply, lips drawn in a thin line. 

The baker rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Well, let’s start off with something easy. You’re going to the movies, right?”

Luz nodded. 

“Alright, kid, here’s what you’re going to do...”

Eda grabbed a stool, sitting down and facing Luz. “Have you heard of the ‘yawn-arm’ trick?”

Luz blinked slowly. “The what now?”

The baker rolled her eyes. “So when you feel like making a move, pretend to yawn. Then stretch your arms out.”

“How’s that supposed to help?”

“Well, when you bring your arms back down, rest one on Amity’s shoulder.”

Luz’s eyes widened in terror. “Why???”

“You want to impress ‘Little Miss Perfect’ now, don’t you?”

Luz ducked her head, avoiding Eda’s gaze. Was it hot in here?

The baker just sighed. “Don’t worry so much, kiddo. You are an incredible person, and I’d be in shock if she hasn’t noticed that. Considering the puppy eyes she kept giving you last time she was here—er—just trust me, Luz. Be yourself and you’ll be fine.”

The nerves in Luz’s stomach dissipate for a moment, a grin tugging at the corner of her lips. She wraps her arms around the baker. “Thank you.”

Eda just laughs. “No thanks needed. Now get out of here and have fun! I’ll see you back here in a couple days, ‘kay?”

Luz manages a quick nod before sprinting out of the bakery. 

Eda rolls her eyes, crossing her arms. She wondered how long it would take for the brunette to realize she had forgotten to take off her apron.

———

Luz practically kicked her home’s door down in her haste. She squealed to her mom in greeting before sprinting to her room. She grabbed a wad of cash and spared a glance in the mirror.

Oh crap, she forgot to take off her apron! 

Luz shrugged it off, throwing it onto her bed before brushing her flour-covered hands on her jeans. She could always bring it back next time she went to Eda’s.

Within seconds and she’s out the door again, shouting a quick exclamation to her confused mom. 

She crosses the street and knocks on her neighbor’s door. 

Willow tumbles out about a minute later.

Luz rubbed the back of her neck, stomach beginning to churn. “How do I look?”

Willow hummed. “You’re covered in flour, Luz.”

“Perfect!”

She rolled her eyes, helping the brunette brush off the white powder. 

After making a couple extra tweaks, Willow gives her the nod of approval. “Perfect.”

Luz grins, walking down the driveway with Willow. They spent the first couple minutes in a nervous silence—or, more like—Luz having a nervous breakdown and Willow watching her with an amused grin on her face. 

They arrive outside the theater about five minutes late. 

Luz immediatley takes out her phone, sending a quick text to Gus of their location. 

Luz: Just got to the theater!

It takes mere seconds for a response, but it felt like an eternity to Luz. Her heart rammed violently against her ribcage, as if threatening to break free. 

Gus: Already inside with Amity! :)

Luz takes Willow by the forearm and drags her towards the entrance. “Come on, they’re inside!”

Willow followed her in with a smile, barely containing her laughter. She wondered how one person could affect Luz like this. Willow had never seen her friend so nervous! 

Luz’s entire world freezes when she sees a girl with teal hair. 

Amity was about twenty feet away, listening to Gus. She wore a worn jean jacket over a pink T-shirt and black skinny jeans. 

Amity eyes suddenly diary up, golden locking with brown. 

Luz’s breath catches at the back of her throat. 

Oh crap...

Amity was beautiful. 

Well, obviously she was beautiful! Amity had always been gorgeous—she’s an actress for Pete’s sake!

But this was different than all the times Luz saw some actress on screen, or her friend at school.

Luz didn’t just think that Amity was stunning....

She was actually attracted to her. 

Or, that’s the only way Luz could explain the warmth spreading through her body like wild fire. 

And it was not like she hadn’t felt it before. She often had butterflies near her new friend. But nothing compared. 

Multiply the butterflies by a thousand and that was how Luz was feeling in this moment. 

How long had she been standing there? How long has she been holding eye contact with Amity? Was being attracted to her a violation of some friendship law???

She’s so screwed.

Willow, as if somehow being able to read the brunette’s mind, grabbed her hand. She slowly dragged Luz closer to Amity and Gus. 

She barely noticed, eyes still trained on the actress. 

Gus looked over in their direction, offered them a enthusiastic wave. “Hey!”

Willow talks for the two of them, probably aware that the brunette was incapable of speech. “Hey, Luz and I have been looking for you two!

Gus and Willow play ‘conversation ping pong’ while Luz processes her thoughts. 

Okay, Amity Blight was gorgeous. Nothing new. All she had to do was get through the night with a big smile on her face.... Then she could go home and scream into her pillow and contemplate her chaotic life. 

The moment Luz becomes somewhat functional again, she offers the group a grin. “What movie do you want to watch?”

Willow, Amity, and Gus turn their attention to the brunette. And Luz is already beginning to fall apart again... 

Great. 

Gus grins. “Would anyone want to watch that new superhero movie? The one with the guy who has those sonic powers?”

Willow hums. “Who stars in it?”

“I think William Khan and... huh. I believe there’s someone else, but I forgot their name.”

Luz was actually exited to watch the movie. She hadn’t been to a theater in what felt like forever! It was a nice change of pace to her boring routine. 

Not that you could call her anything in her life boring. At this point, Luz felt like she had been dropped into a crappy comedy. 

Everyone agrees relatively quickly on the movie. 

A couple lines later and the teens have buckets of popcorn in their arms. 

Luz finds herself falling into pace with Amity. The actress offers her an exited grin. 

The brunette’s eyes dart away as if she had been staring at the sun. “I have to admit, I haven’t been to the movies in forever! I think the last time I went was last year... or maybe a year before that?”

Amity shrugged. “I’ve never been in a movie theater before.”

Luz gasps, eyes widening. “You’ve never been to the movies? Like—never???”

Amity chuckled at the shocked expression on Luz’s face. “No. I never really had the time.”

The brunette can’t stop an exited giggle from escaping her lips. “You’re going to LOVE it!!!”

They file into the theater, squirming themselves through the crowd. 

Luz made her way to sit between Gus and Willow, but she gets shoved back. Willow just offers her a mischievous wink before sitting on the end next to Gus.

Somehow (because the world enjoys watching her suffer), Luz winds up on the other end....

With only Amity to sit next to. 

Crap.

Luz shot Willow an exasperated grimace, although mentally thanking her. She sunk down next to the actress. 

She turns her attention toward the actress, tuning out the commercials. She takes a quick in Gus and Willow’s direction, relived to see them talking amongst themselves. 

“Wait—so how do you watch the movies you star in, If you’ve never been to the theater?”

Amity’s eyes glinted with amusement. “I don’t.”

The actress refrains from laughing when Luz’s jaw drops. “Look, I’ve never been able to watch myself without feeling strange. I critique myself on what I could have done better, and always end up using the movie as a lesson rather than what it was purposed for.”

Luz hums. “So you haven’t seen yourself act at all?”

“Well, I’ve definitely seen bits and pieces here and there. Mostly the popular fragments that people tend to gravitate towards.”

Luz ran a hand through her hair, mentally chiding herself for failing to keep eye contact.

Now that she thought about it, Amity’s situation made a lot sense. It must be terrifying for her to watch the public react to her acting skills, let alone refrain from a mental breakdown. 

But did Amity not know how amazing of an actress she was?

She opens her mouth to respond, but loud action music abruptly cuts her off. Amity offers Luz an grin before pulling her attention back to the big screen. 

Luz forced herself to look away from the actress and to the screen.

———

Fifteen minutes in and everything seemed to be running smoothly. The movie was fantastic! The protagonist, a vigilante with ulterior motives, had just taken down a group of attackers, and was momentarily struggling out of his suit.

The protagonist, now wearing a rumpled suit, stumbled through what seemed to be a Law firm. 

Luz was actually thinking about attempting Eda’s stupid ‘yawn-arm’ trick.

And that when things start going south. 

In the background of the movie, a woman with brown hair, along with many other actors, could be seen in the background. Luz barely notices her at first, eyes still glued to the protagonist. 

Things change when she hears Amity’s breath hitch. Luz pulls her attention away from the screen, sparing a glance in the actress’ direction. Suddenly her stomach’s churning all over again. The panicked expression on her friend’s face is enough to get anyone to squirm. 

Luz taps Amity’s shoulder, mouthing a quick ‘what’s wrong?’

Amity responds by pointing a shaky finger at the screen.

Luz looks back right on time. 

The brunette who had been in the background was now talking to the superhero. 

At first Luz didn’t realize why Amity was so upset. To her, the actress was just a woman with a messy bun and a cold expression. 

But then Luz sees her eyes. They were a bright golden, contrasting with the dull colors of Law firm. It would be an understatement to say that the woman’s eyes were stunning.

Hey, turns out they had a striking resemblance to....

Oh. 

Her head swivels, eyes locking with golden. 

Oh.... There was no way.

She hesitantly leans forward, whispering as quietly as she could. “Is.... is that your mom?”

Amity whimpered in affirmation. 

Luz was beyond confused at this point.

Like, what?!?!

How, out of ALL the movies that they went to, Amity’s mom happened to be in this one???

Well, this had to be the universe trying to make her life a thousand times harder, right? Is this karma for something she had done?

What surprised Luz the most was the distasteful scowl twisting Amity’s lips. Shouldn’t she be glad, if not simply indifferent, to seeing a familiar face on screen so far from home? If anything, Amity seemed more troubled. 

Luz doesn’t hesitate to take Amity’s hand. She would have been too afraid to do it if her friend hadn’t looked so bemused in seeing her parent. But the saddened expression on Amity’s face struck something in the brunette. She had to do something—anything—to help her.

The actress looks down at their entwined hands, the nervousness dispersing from her face. Whatever seemed to be making her upset had been forgotten, her attention now directed toward Luz. 

Luz offers her a reassuring smile before sparing a glance at Gus and Willow. Neither of them had made the connection between the actress on screen and Amity. 

Heck, Luz might not have seen the resemblance herself if Amity didn’t say anything. She would have never known. 

She leans in close to Amity. “Did you know your—er—she was in this?”

She shakes her head.

Luz nods before responding. “We can ride this out, Amity, yeah? Together.”

Amity visibly relaxed, sinking farther into her chair. She manages a tiny “thanks” and gives Luz’s hand a squeeze. 

Luz offers her a gummy grin. Maybe they could survive tonight after all. Nothing could get stranger than this, right?

———

Amity and Luz loosened up as the movie continued. Every scene was better than the last. 

Once in a while Luz would look at the actress—Amity’s mom—and go back into shock. 

THAT. WAS. AMITY’S. MOM!!!

That brought up a billion questions. 

Luz knew from fangirl knowledge that Amity had two actors for parents, and that each of them performed in countless Hollywood films. 

Luz also knew that movies take up a lot of time. Just one film could take months of preparation, auditioning, practicing and training. Sometimes, if it was a TV series, it could go into years in the making.

And that brought up a very disturbing question. 

When was the last time Amity and her mom been alone in a room together? How about her and her dad? All three of them? 

Amity reacted to seeing her mom as if she had been punched in the gut...

But—then again—how much did Luz really know? Maybe Amity and her mom talked on the phone every night!

But Luz as unfortunately smarter than that. She would argue that Amity was more pained at seeing her mom than shocked. 

Thinking about this causes Luz to inch closer to the actress. She does it without even thinking, bringing an arm around Amity. After tensing up in surprise, Amity sinks into it. 

Luz refuses to think about what that might mean.

The rest of the movie is easier after that (aside from a very pg13 scene including Amity’s mom... Luz had to suppress a snicker when seeing her friend so embraced).

The theater fades to black and the credits roll. Luz promptly stands, pulling Amity with her. She mourned over the leftover popcorn in her bucket before stumbling out of the isle and throwing it into the nearest trash can. Amity, willow, and Gus follow. 

None of them notice the pink-haired girl sitting at the back of the theater. 

———

Luz’s cheeks heat up when she realizes that she was still holding Amity’s hand. The actress was probably just being polite when not pulling away, right? 

Luz was making a fool of herself.

Breaking contact from Amity was actually painful. The brunette’s hand felt strange without the actress’ to accompany it. The temperature felt as if it had dropped, the cold October wind sending chills down her spine. She immediatley regrets her decision.

Gus had not stopped talking about the movie since they left the theater, ranting about how incredible it was. Willow was being characteristically quiet, entertaining Gus’ antics with a small smiler hum in agreement. Once in a while her eyes would drift to Luz and Amity, and her lips would split into a grin. She even winked when Luz caught her. 

After distancing themselves from the theater, Willow pulls them all to a stop. “Where do you want to eat?”

Gus immediatley chirped up, mentioning the restaurant located a couple blocks away. No one disagreed, all following Gus across the street. 

About fifteen minutes later and Luz finds herself in a booth with a menu in her hands. She’s crammed into the corner by Willow, and was facing Amity on the other end. 

“Can I get you anything?”

Luz looks up at the waiter. The man, maybe in his young twenties, wore a grimace on his face.

She randomly chooses something and smiled in thanks. He asks the rest of the group before retreating to the kitchen. 

Gus grins. “So how’d you guys like the movie?”

Willow pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose with a finger. “It was really good. I haven't seen a movie that action-packed in forever!”

Luz hums in agreement. “Same!”

Gus smiles at Amity. “What did you think?”

Luz’s stomach drops, her eyes darting across the table. 

The actress smiled and shrugged. “Good all around, I think. I could have gone without the making out scene though.”

Luz couldn’t help but giggle at that. Of course Amity didn’t like that scene! It was her mom, after all. 

Willow nods in agreement, unaware of the humor in Amity’s words. “I think so too. It didn't really move the plot along, did it?”

Gus gasped, mocking offense. “But it was so romantic!!”

Amity stuck her tongue out at that, shaking her head in disgust. 

The conversation drifted after that. They talked about everything from school projects to ice cream flavors.

Eventually Gus stood up, stepping out of the booth and frowning down at his phone. He looks at the group, a sad smile on his face. “My dad just texted me. I got to go, but I had a lot of fun tonight! We should definitely do this again soon!”

He then flees the restaurant.

About ten minutes later and Willow sighs, also standing. “I should get going. My history paper won’t write itself, will it?” 

She offers them both a knowing smile before turning on her heel. 

The second Willow disappears through the restaurant doors, the brunette breaks down in a fit of giggles. “That was close!”

Amity grins. “It was! I was worried that they realized that Odalia Blight was my mom. Thanks for not telling them, Luz.”

Amity lets go of a relieved sigh. “Luz... can I tell you something?”

Luz nodded, bitting down on her bottom lip. Suddenly the room is a thousand degrees warmer.  
“Of course. What’s up?”

“Well, I’ve been thinking about soccer a lot recently, and it wasn't as fun as I thought it’d be. I was hoping that maybe I could go with you to your first drama rehearsal? I’m thinking of taking up that teacher on his offer in directing it.”

Luz grinned, eyes widening. “That would be awesome, Amity! But—why the change of heart?”

She smiled, looking down at her hands. “I realized that there’s some people who... I don’t mesh with very well. I just thought that it would be better if I separated myself from them. Plus... I would rather spend time with someone I really care about.”

Luz adverts her gaze to the window next to her, attempting to hide her flushed face. “I’m glad to hear that, Amity.”

And of course, because Luz can’t keep her stupid mouth shut, she continues. “I care about you a lot too.”

“Luz—

A phone rings. 

Amity rolls her eyes, pulling out her phone and bringing it to her ear. “What?.... uh-huh.... okay. Sure..”

Amity hangs up, a sorrowful frown on her lips. “That was Kikimora. She’s waiting outside for me.”

Disappointment punches Luz in the gut. “Oh... that’s okay. I’ll see next Monday at school! And if you wanted... you can always call me.”

Amity bites her lip and nods. “That sounds perfect.”

“Also, what were you going to say?”

“Huh?”

“Before Kikimora called you?”

Suddenly Amity’s face flushes. “Well—er—nothing. Never mind, I can always tell you later. I... I had a lot of fun with you, Luz.”

Luz nods, a grin on her face. “Me too.”

Little did the brunette know that she would be staring up at her ceiling for the entire night, mind racing and butterflies in her stomach. 

———

Boscha hummed, eyes reflecting the light of her computer screen. 

She KNEW something was up. For the past couple months she could tell that there was something going on between Luz and Amity. At first she just thought they were both hopelessly crushing on each other (obviously!!!) but there was something else. 

After Amity so rudely refused to go bowling with Skara and her, Boscha decided to take her revenge. Why the heck did Amity want to be with Luz and not her???

In her anger, Boscha canceled her plans with Skara and drove to the theater. She bought an extra large soda. She was planning on dumping it on Amity and Luz while they were watching the movie. Serves them right too.

Things didn’t go as she intended.

Boscha could tell something was off when she saw that actress on screen. She remembered thinking to herself ‘hey, her golden eyes look eerily familiar!’

And that’s when she heard Luz lean over and whisper to Amity. Boscha could barely hear what she said.... something about the actress on screen. By the look on Amity’s face, it seemed really important too. So she decided to refrain from pouring her drink on the hopeless romantics.

She suffered through the movie, having a front seat to the ‘Luz and Amity are disasters’ show. She rolled her eyes when Luz wrapped an arm around Amity. What saps! Could they just get married already so no one would have to deal with their love sick antics?

She waited after the movie in order to see the actress’ name on the credits. 

ODALIA BLIGHT

Odalia Blight. Odalia.... Blight.

Blight....

Amity Blight.

Holy crap. 

Boscha watched in shock as the name disappeared at the top of the screen. 

No. There was no way Amity was related to.... nope. Not possible. What would the daughter of an actress be doing at a school in the middle of freaking nowhere???

Boscha was fooling herself. She had to be. 

She was obviously just connecting dots that didn’t even exist. 

So she walks out of the theater, catching up to the group. She made sure to keep her distance, in hopes to not be recognized. 

But she pays special attention to the green haired girl’s movements. 

Golden eyes. Exactly like Odalia Blight’s.

So the second she went home, Boscha opened up her computer. 

And she looked her friend up. 

Boscha KNEW she shouldn’t have done it. She KNEW she was asking for trouble meddling in something she shouldn’t. 

But it would be an understatement to say she was surprised in her discovery. 

The first name that popped up on her search engine when typing in ‘Amity’ was ‘Amity Blight.’

She rolled her eyes as she clicked the search bar. 

HOLY SHI—

There was an image of Amity Blight herself, decked out on a red carpet with green hair and  
Perfect makeup. 

She wasn't JUST the Odalia’s daughter. 

Amity was a freaking actress!!! A famous one at that. 

Boscha immediatley presses on Amity’s web page. 

‘Amity Blight, age fifteen, was born in Los Angeles, CA. She started acting at the young age of six, although her parents (click here to see parents’ pages) claim to have started training her at the age of three. She plays minor characters in many movies, and p major characters and protagonists on two television series, one of which is a major hit in many countries (click here to see show).’

Boscha goes down a worm hole of information and conspiracies, such as the famous ‘does Amity Blight have a girlfriend’ and many more. 

She ends up coming across a specific answer in this. 

‘Everyone is talking about the one and only ‘Sunshine’ in Amity’s life. Although most fans I know don’t think there’s enough information, I believe that our Amity Blight has fallen hard for her!’

And so Boscha, deciding that this weekend’s homework could wait (not like she wouldn’t just copy Skara’s answers), went through the excruciating research to find out who this ‘Sunshine’ was. 

And, after a lot of digging, she finds it. 

Apparently, Amity had recently came up with a blog talking about her experiences at a public school—and holy crap was it specific—

So she reads it all. 

She reads about Amity’s experiences at their high school. About the teachers, the students, heck, Boscha even read about herself! 

Even still, the identity of ‘Sunshine’ was a bit fuzzy. Although Boscha (definitely) had her suspicions, there was just not enough information. 

And, just to her luck, Amity updates her blog...

Boscha presses the link. 

‘AHHHHH!!!! Oh my gosh, none of you will believe what happened! Remember the plans I had with Sunshine and her friends (code names Daisy and Bookworm) for today? Well, it went really interesting. I’ve been going crazy wanting to tell someone—anyone—about it, so I thought that I should update the blog. 

So, apparently we accidentally chose a movie that my mom acted in. Sunshine was the only one I think who realized the resemblance. The look on her face was hysterical, but I’d be willing to bet that my facial expression was funnier. I was in complete shock. I think Sunshine knew this. She took my hand and held it. 

I don’t know. There’s something about Sunshine that I don’t quite understand yet. I don’t know why, but whenever I look at her my stomach flutters a little. And I liked it when she held my hand. A lot—Is it normal to feel this way?

When it comes to Daisy and Bookworm, I like them a lot too. They are really fun to talk with. I found out tonight that Bookworm is a huge fan of action films. I’m thinking about maybe inviting the group over so we can watch more together... and Daisy is great too. She’s kind of quiet, but really really sweet!

But it’s just different with Sunshine. It feels different...

Anyways, that’s it for today. Even though it’s a small update, I hope you enjoyed reading it! I can’t wait to update this again soon.’

Boscha fell out of her chair. 

The mysterious ‘Sunshine’ that Amity was gushing about was none other than Luz freaking Noceda. 

Boscha sat there for what felt like hours, staring at Amity’s blog. 

What does she do???

Boscha was trying to find some dirt on Amity, but not this! This was way too much. What does she do with all this information?

That’s when it hits her. 

This could be her payback. Amity chose Luz over her, and she had too pay for it. 

But was this too harsh?

Boscha looked back at her screen. She didn’t have to tell anyone about the blog... everyone knew about their sappy relationship but them anyways. They weren’t exactly subtle about their feelings (despite how oblivious they were to them).

But no one yet knew about Amity....

Boscha pulls out her phone, decision made. She presses on her best friend’s contact and brings the device to her ear. 

“Skara, you won’t believe what I just found!”

———

TO BE CONTINUED~!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry :/
> 
> *holds hands up defensively, hides behind desk*
> 
> But in all seriousness, I hope you liked this. The next chapter will come out after my hiatus (until very early January). Let me know what you think? 
> 
> Thank you for reading it! See you next year! :))))


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone!
> 
> First of all, I want to thank you for being so patient. The hiatus helped me regain my sanity after finals (I’m guessing many of you can relate)! 
> 
> I also want to thank you for all the love and support I have been receiving. You push me to continue this story! :)
> 
> OH!! Also, this chapter contains a cuss word or two. Just a heads up!

Amity grimaced, skimming over the final draft of her essay. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon, just two days after the actress had went to the movies. Despite Friday having passed, it was all she could think about. 

That might be the reason Amity’s essay was terrible. She could barely get through a sentence without zoning out for what felt like forever. 

Somehow, the actress finished. It only took her.... the whole weekend. 

Huh. 

Amity groaned, flopping face first into her pillow. She stayed there for a while, tuning out the music blasting from her headphones. 

Eventually boredom outweighs her exhaustion. Amity sighs, opening her laptop back up and trying to find something to do. 

She hadn’t looked at her blog since she updated it. Maybe she could see how people responded to it?

Amity leaned back against her bed frame, logging into her account and clicking on the link to her last update. 

Oh...

That’s a lot of comments. 

It seemed like she had gained a couple hundred more followers on her blog. And the amount of likes on her last update was insane. They must have really enjoyed it for some reason. 

So Amity scrolls down to the comment section and begins to read. 

The replies are shocking, to say the least.

The most liked comment, at the very top of the page, immediatley caught her attention. 

‘Huh. From the way you wrote it, I think you might be falling for this ‘Sunshine’ of yours. That might just be me being a huge romantic fangirl, but who knows? The way you described how you felt around her is exactly how I felt around my fiancé when I first met him. My heart would beat crazy fast and I would always find myself at a total loss for words. I still get that rush at times, when he’s being really sweet. I really love him. 

If you’re unsure of how you feel, just relax. It’ll become clearer as you go. However, I would be willing to bet that you really like Sunshine.’ 

Amity audibly gasped, clamping her mouth shut with a hand. Her mind raced as she reread the comment.

Crap. 

Could that be it? Why Amity felt so strange around Luz?

Because she liked her???

The actress never had this feeling for anyone before. Now that she thought about it, she never really had a chance to. She was always working, and didn’t have the time to meet anyone who caught her interest. 

Sure, sometimes she looked at a co-actress and her heartbeat picked up...

But nothing like this.

Amity bit down on her bottom lip, eyes darting across her laptop screen. She forced herself to read through the remaining comments. 

Although a good portion said something similar to the first, or didn’t mention Sunshine at all, a couple went into more detail. One even gave a couple tips in trying to find out if she really liked Luz. Amity eventually shuts down her laptop, running a hand down her face.

Amity mind drifted back to Friday for what felt like the hundredth time. She felt her cheeks redden. Something Luz said that night had been haunting her for a while now...

“You can always call me.”

It was nothing but a friendly invitation. Nothing more than Luz just being nice...

Then why did it feel like so much more?

Amity had been considering Luz’s words the moment they passed the brunette’s lips. She often found herself looking down at her phone, thumb hovering over the ‘call’ button. 

And now, she found herself doing it again. 

Great. 

Amity just sighed, bitting the bullet and pressing Luz’s contact. She couldn’t get the student off her mind anyways, she might as well talk to her. 

The phone only rings twice before Luz picks up. “Heya, Amity!”

The actress’ stomach churns. “Luz.”

“What’s up?”

“Not much. It took me forever, but I finally finished that stupid essay.”

“Wait, we had a essay?”

Amity rolled her eyes, a smile twisting her lips. “Yeah?”

“Oh.... do you think I’ll be able to finish it before tomorrow morning?”

Amity giggled. “Perhaps.”

“Hold on!”

Amity’s heart rammed in her ribcage as she heard fumbling on Luz’s end of the phone. 

After about a minute, the brunette speaks. “Okay, I grabbed my laptop and put you on speaker. Do you mind me cranking out the essay while we talk?”

She raises an eyebrow. “Can you really multitask like that??”

“Hey, you’re talking to a baker, here! I can definitely multitask.”

Amity grins when hearing Luz typing on the other end of the phone. “What did you do this weekend?”

Luz talks as she types. Apparently she can multitask! “Er.... hmm... I worked an extra shift with Eda and King. She called me at four in the morning yesterday in a panic, saying that I had to come right away. Apparently she had invented, and I quote, ‘The best baked good in all of creation.’”

“Was it that good?”

A chuckle on the other end. “Well, not as good as Eda thought. Let’s just say that I’ve only just recovered about an hour ago.”

Amity can’t help herself from laughing. “Did anything else happen?”

“Nope. Apparently there was an essay I had to write! How about you? What did you do this weekend?”

Amity hummed. She couldn’t possibly tell Luz ‘hey, I found out that I may or may not have a crush on you and can’t stop thinking about it’, right?

“The essay. I called you after I finished it, actually. Other than that?.... Not much.”

“Hey, the essay is five paragraphs, right?”

“Uh-huh. How far have you gotten?”

“...About four so-so sentences. My thesis can definitely be better, but I’m sure it’ll be fine!”

——-

Amity doesn’t know how long they stay on the phone. All she knows is that Luz had finished her essay about half an hour ago and they were still talking. 

Amity grimaces when she hears a faint shout from the kitchen. “Er—I gotta go. Kikimora just called me.”

“Oh! How come?”

Amity sighs. “Kikimora has been attempting to cook us dinner for the past couple of days.... it’s been an experience.”

“She’s not a good cook, huh?”

“That would be an understatement.”

Luz cackles on the other end, and something in Amity’s heart melts. The brunette’s voice grows softer on the other end. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Off course. You can count on it.”

“Great!”

Amity found herself able to breathe again when the phone call ended. 

Another shout from the kitchen rouses the actress from her thoughts. She races out from her bedroom, skidding to a stop when reaching the dining room table. She frowns down at her plate. Was that Mac and Cheese or soup? Amity was afraid to find out.

“You made dinner again?”

The disgruntled agent just rolled her eyes, sitting down on the other end of the table. 

It was going to be a long night

————

At first, everything seemed normal. 

Amity was surprised to find that her phone had lost battery overnight. She could have sworn she plugged it in, but apparently not. 

The actress got ready for school, grabbed her book bag, and argued with Kikimora, all of which was in her usual morning routine. 

When she’s dropped off at school, things take a turn for the worse. 

And it’s really bad. 

Amity first noticed all the staring. It seemed like everyone stopped when she passed by. A few people even whispered amongst each other. 

Why did it feel like something’s changed? 

Amity chose to push her insecurities to the back of her mind. She was probably just being self conscious. She ignored the staring, continuing to her locker. 

That’s when she spots a familiar brunette. Luz was waiting by Amity’s locker, eyes darting around the halls. Whenever someone made eye contact with Luz, she would advert her gaze to the floor. 

That’s strange... 

Luz was usually super cavalier and open with herself. The brunette practically sprinted through the halls like she was on a race track, not bothering to care what others thought about her. 

Actually, it’s one of the things Amity loved—er—really liked about Luz. 

Today was different. Luz was closed in on herself, insecure. 

That’s when Amity realizes something is really wrong. Her stomach drops. 

Luz spots her less than a second later. She marches over and takes her by the shoulders. She mutters a quick ‘follow me’ before dragging her to the closest bathroom. 

Luz holds up a finger before Amity could talk, checking that they were alone.

“What’s going on?”

Luz growled. “Boscha’s a bitch, that’s what’s going on!”

Amity frowned. “What—

Luz hastily takes the actress’ hands, eyes locking with golden. 

“They know.”

“Know what?”

Luz just shakes her head. “Amity....”

“Luz—

“Did you not get my text?”

“N-no, my phone died. What happened???”

Luz looked like she was about to either break down crying or punch the nearest stall door. “It was Boscha. I don’t know how, or why, but she told everyone. She—she even posted it on—I think I’m going to kill her.”

That’s when realization struck. 

Somehow, Boscha found out. She found out that Amity was an actress. 

And she... 

Suddenly it all makes sense. Everyone looking at her in the hallways, the whispering—

Amity’s voice shook. “Does everyone know?”

Luz just stepped closer to Amity, bring the actress’ hands closer to her. 

So everyone knew. 

“Willow and Gus too?”

A nod.

What does she do now? The reason Amity came to this school was because no one would recognize her. It seems like all the effort she put into having a regular semester had been in vain. 

How would Amity be treated, now that everyone knew who she was? What happens next???

Luz seemed to be reading her mind. She pulls her into a hug. 

Amity is surprised to find herself clinging back.

Luz’s voice was barely above a whisper. “What do we do?”

“I... I don’t know.”

The bell rings, and Amity’s stomach flips. Luz offers her a tiny smile. “Do you want to head to class? I’ll be with you the entire time.” 

Amity offers a nod before she is being pulled out of the restroom and down the hall. 

Everyone was staring at her. 

She found herself shrinking under the stares of the others. The brunette shot them death glares in return. 

They quickly arrive to the English classroom. Luz pauses, looking at the actress with a reassuring smile before pushing the door open. 

Amity’s eyes immediatley lock with Boscha’s. The jock was sitting at the front of the classroom, a twisted smirk on her face. The actress’ gut twisted. 

Everyone’s eyes were glued to the front of the room, bouncing between Boscha and Amity. While most people are looking at the actress with sympathetic smiles, others were scowling at Boscha. 

Luz’s jaw clenched. If looks could kill, Luz would have murdered Boscha. 

Actually, it seemed like all her classmates had the same idea. 

They... they were on Amity’s side.

Amity gives the brunette’s hand a squeeze before letting go. She avoids eye contact with everyone, finding a seat in the back.

And class precedes as usual. Lilith (who’s eyes keep drifting to Amity’s direction) asks for the essays, everyone groans and passes them up to the teacher. She lectures to them about the ‘power of punctuation’, and tells them to read the next two chapters of their textbooks. 

Amity is almost freaked out how normal everything is. 

Well, other than the collective glares thrown in a specific jock’s direction.

———

Amity gets stopped a lot for autographs throughout the day, but things were running smoothly considering the situation she was in. 

Eventually she found herself in the Cafeteria, walking over to Gus and Willow. She hadn’t talked to them since before the weekend. 

She grimaced. 

What if they were angry at her for not telling them? How would they react??

The moment Amity sits down, Gus explodes. “Amity!!! Are you okay? I heard about... you know...”

Willow looks up from her book, the concern in her eyes matching Gus’ exclamation. 

Amity nods. “Yeah, I... I don’t know, really.”

Luz’s eyes shifted between Gus and Willow. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you.”

Willow rolled her eyes. “I always knew.”

Luz’s eyes widen. “You did???”

“I watch Amity’s show too! I don’t live under a rock, you know.”

Amity’s mouth falls slightly a jar. “And you never told me?”

“I didn’t want to scare you. Besides, it doesn’t matter that you’re an actress... you’re my friend, not my idol.”

Gus, however, was still in shock. “Was I the only one in the entire school who didn’t know???”

Amity shrugs, stifling a giggle. “Sorry.”

He waved her off, a enthusiastic grin on his face. “So, Miss Hollywood, can I ask you a couple questions?”

They entire lunch period is spent with Gus asking Amity about her experience on film sets. He (eventually) realizes that Amity is related to Odalia Blight. His reaction is nothing short of hilarious. 

The rest of the day goes well. Too well.

It seemed like everyone just accepted the fact and moved on. Most people still stared at Amity like she had grown a second head though.

Luz stayed at Amity’s side the entire day. After school she even walked Amity home, jabbering about random topics the entire way. 

And breaking the news to Kikimora was definitely not fun. The agent was furious that they tried so hard to keep Amity’s identity hidden and everyone found out regardless. Kikimora may or may not have threatened to attack Boscha with a kitchen knife. 

It turned out that people finding out about Amity’s career was not as terrible as she thought it would be.

But it brought up a question that Amity had been avoiding thinking about. 

What was next?

On one hand, Amity could stay at the school. Everyone seemed unaffected as her status as an actress. Everything was the same as it always had been.... sorta. 

But how much longer would it be until something bad happened? What if a paparazzi showed up at school, or something crazy like that? Now that the entire school knew about her, it wouldn’t be too long until the entire town knew there was an actress in their midst. And what would happen then?

Even worse, what if Boscha decided to do something worse? Amity had no idea what else the jock could use against her at this point.

Or, she could leave. Amity could leave everything here behind and start up her career again. 

Leave Luz...

The question remained unanswered in the back of Amity’s mind. What’s happens next?

———

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that’s the chapter for this week. To be honest, I was kind of nervous posting this one, considering that it’s the first chapter after a long while. It would be really helpful to hear how you all feel about it, or what you are predicting is going to happen? Also, I apologize for any minor errors in this. It took a long time for me to edit! :)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you have a wonderful rest of the weekend!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya, everyone! 
> 
> Before this chapter, I just wanted to thank all of you for reading, liking, and/or commenting. All the love and support I have gotten is just amazing! I hope I can return all of your kindness with the awesome chapters you deserve!

Luz’s POV:

It had been about four hours since school ended. Luz’s mood was still fluctuating between ‘I need to make sure Amity is okay’ and ‘how illegal is stabbing Boscha?’

It seemed like everyone at school had decided to outcast Boscha. Within a couple hours, the smug grin on the jock’s stupid face had faded. By the end of the day, she was being ignored by everyone except Skara. Even the teachers seemed to be annoyed (more than usual) with her. 

It’s exactly what Boscha deserves.

Now, hours later, Luz was helping Eda close shop. Most people would say that a teenager working past seven on a school night was unhealthy, but the brunette was more than grateful for a distraction. 

Warning bells were blaring in her head since morning. 

Yes, today went well, but how about everything in the long term? 

What happens if Boscha tries something else? Something worse?

And what about Amity’s privacy? Now that everyone knew about her secret, how long would it be until people started searching out for more? 

Will Amity leave Hex High?

That question in particular made Luz’s stomach churn. 

She knew that Amity was on borrowed time. Regardless of when, the actress would be leaving eventually...

She had told Luz herself. By the start of next semester, Amity would be gone. 

Luz’s scowl deepened. She pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind, focusing on the task at hand. 

Eda crossed her arms and sighed, eyes trained on the brunette working on the far side of the kitchen. 

She could tell something was wrong with her kid. Usually Luz would be jabbering away about something weird and cryptic, or complaining about the homework assigned that day. 

But Luz hadn’t talked once in an hour.

The baker had asked Luz if she was alright, but the brunette just mumbled something along the lines of ‘yes’ and continued working. Eda didn’t even think of denying Luz when she asked to work late. 

Eda lets her work another few minutes before walking over and resting a hand on her shoulder. Luz stiffens, turning around to glower at the baker. “What?”

Eda takes the broom from her hand, resting it against the closest wall. “Look, kid, you gotta tell me what’s wrong. I can’t help you if I don’t know why you’re upset.” 

Luz shoulders slump in defeat, her gaze dropping to the floor. After a long minute silence, the brunette confessed. 

“Everyone at school knows about Amity now. They know she’s an actress.”

Woah.

Although Eda couldn’t say she was surprised (a secret as gigantic as Amity’s was bound to get out sometime), she was definitely sympathetic. 

“Is she okay?”

“I think so... but it just kinda hit me that Amity might not stick around because of all this. Even if she stays for now, she’s told me before that she’ll be leaving at the end of the semester...”

“Oh.”

Suddenly Luz’s mood makes sense. 

Eda knew how happy Amity makes Luz. Over the couple of months they’ve known each other, Luz had practically fallen head over heels for her. 

At this point, the thought of Luz without Amity was like imagining a fish without water. It just didn’t make sense!

No wonder the kid was so down. 

Eda drew Luz into a hug. “Why don’t you just ask her when she’s going?”

The brunette let go of a sigh. “Why? I know she’ll be leaving me one way or another...”

“Look, kiddo, I get it. You’re scared because Amity’s important to you. You’re scared of what might happen, or not happen, when she’s not around. But... that doesn’t mean you should be so upset about it right now. Think about it... You can still be with her, talk to her. Crap, you could basically walk to her house right now! You still have time.”

Luz tilted her head to the side. “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

“Why would you waste the time you have feeling sorry for yourself when you could be with Amity? Just go for it, spend all the time you can with her. When she leaves, whenever that is... at least you won’t regret not having done all you could with her.”

“But what happens after she’s gone?”

Eda rolled her eyes, ruffling Luz’s hair. “You have a phone, don’t you? Call her! It’s not like we live in the Middle Ages.”

Luz nodded. Although the defeated slump in her shoulders lingered, her scowl melted into a tiny grimace. “Okay... I guess that makes sense. Thanks, Eda.”

She smiled down at her. “That’s my girl. Now get outta my bakery and go home. You’ve got homework to do.”

Luz cringed. She really needed to stop pushing her homework off to the last minute...

———

Eda had a point. There was no use in getting upset over something that hadn’t yet happened. Amity was still here, and she was most likely not going anywhere for a little while. 

Or so Luz thinks...

She might as well make the most out of the time she has left with the actress. 

That silver lining didn’t stop Luz from reflecting on the conversation she had with her employer. She couldn’t help but wonder if there was something more to what Eda was saying. 

‘Just go for it.’

What could Eda have meant?

Luz already knew the answer to that question. She just didn’t want to admit it. 

Eda was saying that Luz had to take a chance and admit her feelings to Amity. 

Like—that couldn’t have been what Eda was implying! 

No way. 

And even if that was what Eda was trying to tell her, how could Luz ‘just go for it?’

Amity. Is. An. Actress. 

Amity had the entire world in the palm of her hand. She could, at any given moment, fly anywhere she wanted! She had walked on the red carpet for Pete’s sake! Amity has worked with incredibly talented people, most of which were a million times more attractive than Luz. 

How did she even have a chance? 

Luz grimaced, squinting at her notebook. At this point, the equations she had written down appeared doubled and blurry. They were almost unintelligible. She rubbed at her eyes, closing her books and shoving them back into her bag. Luz could finish the rest of her assignments tomorrow morning. 

———

Luz groaned, throwing the covers back and sluggishly sitting up. She was done pretending like she would get any sleep. 

She had spent most of the night wide awake, staring up at her ceiling. 

Luz knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep until she knew if Amity was staying.

But could she wait until morning to find out?

It was painfully obvious that she couldn’t.

Luz reached over the side of the bed and grabbed her phone. She winced as the unnatural light emanating from the cracked screen burned her eyes. It took them a few moments to adjust.

2:03 AM

The brunette grimaced. Would it be weird for her to text Amity this late—er—early?

Well, she did pull an all-nighter texting Willow and Gus once. So it must not be that bad...

Right?

She spent the next twenty minutes typing up different messages and then deleting them. She raked a hand through her hair, stomach churning. Luz knew she had to be overthinking it.

So she, in the heat of the moment, pressed ‘send.’

2:23 AM—Luz Noceda: Heya! Sorry 4 the late text, but I was wondering about something.

Luz immediatley regretted sending the text. This was so stupid!!! Now Amity would be wondering why she was thinking about her at two in the morning!

Crapcrapcrapcra—

Luz’s heart stops when she sees that Amity is texting back. She fights the urge to throw her phone across the room, holding her breath. 

Eventually, the text comes through.

2:27 AM—Amity Blight: Hey, Luz. Couldn’t sleep either, huh? A lot happened 2day. What were you wondering about?

And suddenly Luz can breathe again. At least she didn’t wake Amity up!

Here was the moment of truth... 

2:29 AM—Luz Noceda: I wanted to know if you were planning on staying at Hex High 4 the rest of the semester? I know that you have a thing about being recognized, and that you might not be comfortable going to school here anymore.

2:33 AM—Amity Blight: I’ve been thinking a lot about that, actually. No, I don’t plan on going anywhere. Although there might be risks to me staying, whether it’s being swarmed by a paparazzi at school or... something else. But I don’t really see a reason for me to leave. I don’t want to leave you and everyone else just because Boscha’s being a jerk. It’s worth the risk to stay... for now, at least.

2:33 AM—Amity Blight: Why do you ask?

2:35 AM—Luz Noceda: I don’t know. I guess I was just a little nervous that you’d be leaving.

2:35 AM—Amity Blight: You can’t get rid of me that easily, Noceda! ;)

2:36 AM—Luz Noceda: You going soft on me, Blight?

2:36 AM—Amity Blight: In your dreams. Speaking of which, I’m going to hit the sack. I’ll see u at school 2morrow! Don’t forget that there’s Drama after school.

2:37 AM—Luz Noceda: Good night! And thanks for staying. :)

It only took five minutes for Luz to fall asleep after that. 

———

Luz chirped in excitement when the last bell rang. She changed out of her gym uniform and raced out of the locker room. 

This would be her first Drama rehearsal of the semester!

She had been going crazy waiting for the day to end.

She grabs her backpack from her locker. Amity showed up about a minute later. She offered Luz a nod. “Ready?”

Luz grinned. “Heck yeah!”

Amity chuckled, opening up her own locker and pulling her book bag out. “Let’s go. We don’t want to be late to the first rehearsal.”

Luz was still surprised at Amity’s change of heart when it came to drama. The brunette was glad that she had decided to quit soccer. At least she wouldn’t have to her near Boscha anymore (Luz was still deciding whether she should stab her for what she did).

She followed the actress through the halls to the auditorium. A group of high schoolers, maybe thirty students at most, were spread out through the room. Most of them were in groups, talking quietly amongst themselves. 

About five minutes later and the drama teacher walks in. His eyes immediatley land on Luz and Amity. He walks over, a broad smile on his face. 

“Hey, Luz, are you happy with the part you got?”

She nodded, a grin twisting her lips. “Yes!!! I can’t believe I got Romeo!”

“I’m glad! You are more than capable of the role.”

He glanced over at Amity, head tilting to the side. “So you decided to join us after all, huh?”

Amity nodded, adverting her gaze. “If that’s okay. I was hoping I could help backstage, or something...”

He grinned. “Of course! Actually, I was hoping you could maybe consult some of the students here on acting? Nothing major of course, just on small stuff. Now that I know that you’re an actress, It would be a real help to hear your input.”

Amity hesitantly nodded as he spoke, tensing up a little when he says ‘actress’. 

She offers him a small smile. “I would like that.”

“Perfect! I’ll let you know more about your position after rehearsal today.”

He clasped his hands together, turning around to address the other students. “Alright, everyone, let’s get this show on the road! I’ll be giving you all the scripts from ‘Romeo and Juliet’. We’ll also be discussing roles and what you can expect from this semester’s performance.”

———

Kikimora groaned, resting her head in her hand. She had been waiting in the parking lot of Hex high for about fifteen minutes now. Amity told her earlier that the rehearsal would be over ten minutes ago. 

And usually Amity is extremely accurate with her schedule. 

So the actress’ lateness meant only one of two things: she was murdered, or she was with Luz. 

Kikimora would be willing to bet on the latter. 

She allowed a tiny smile to twist her lips. 

It was a matter of weeks, maybe days, until one of them will (finally) have the courage to ask the other out on a date. 

Kikimora is roused from her thoughts when her phone rings. She immediatley recognizes the number, bringing the device to her ear. 

“Mr. Belos.”

The voice on the other end sent chills down her spine. “Has Amity come to a conclusion yet?”

Kikimora grimaced. “I... I haven’t told her yet.”

She winces at the strain in the man’s words. “It’s been two months, Kikimora! My patience is wearing very thin.”

Rage pulsed through Kikimora’s veins. “What, so I’m just supposed to tell Ms. Blight that she has to leave everything she cares about behind??? No, the poor girl has been through so much already.”

“So does this mean you will be turning down the role I have offered her? Kikimora, this movie is an opportunity of a lifetime. And you’re willing to throw that away without even telling Amity about it?”

The agent scowled. “But she has friends here! People who care about her! She’s... she’s never had that before. Not really.”

“How is that my problem?”

“But how can I—

“So you’ll be turning down the offer?”

“No, I didn’t say that! Just.... give me more time.”

“You have until December tenth to decline or accept my offer. Any later and Amity loses the part.”

“But—

The passenger’s door of the car opens, revealing a teal haired girl. “Hey, Kikimora. Sorry I’m late, I was talking with Luz.”

The agent holds up a finger. She mumbles quietly into the phone. “Yes sir... I’ll get back to you soon.”

She hangs up on him.

Amity is none the wiser, a grin twisting her lips. “Who was that?”

Kikimora wouldn’t lie... but she couldn’t tell Amity the whole truth either. Not yet.

She wasn’t ready.

“Just another client calling in hopes to offer you a role.”

Amity sighed, pulling out her phone. “Can... can we maybe talk about something else? I don’t want to think about work today. It’s all I’ve been hearing about since everyone found out about my career...”

Kikimora let go of a breath she wasn't aware she held. Relief washed over her. “Okay.”

She knew she had to tell Amity about Belos soon... but not today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you have a wonderful rest of the weekend.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here’s the chapter for this week! I hope you all enjoy it.

Amity’s POV:

Terrifying. 

That’s exactly how Amity would describe the past two weeks.

Absolutely and completely terrifying.

Because with every passing day, Amity’s feelings became increasingly impossible to ignore. Amity was even beginning to contemplate not fighting them anymore. 

At this point, Amity could barely be within five feet of Luz without her stomach doing flips. 

And Luz was NOT helping!!! Whenever Amity worked up the courage to meet her eyes, the brunette would respond by giving her that lopsided smile of hers. Every time. 

It was infuriating. 

And adorable...

But what if Luz doesn’t like her back? Does that mean she loses the only best friend she’s ever had?

A couple days ago, Amity discovered a tactic in trying to survive her (hopefully temporary) crush. 

Denial.

She decided to push her thoughts to the back of her mind. The actress focused on anything—everything—except on Luz. 

... Some times worked better than others. She would always end up thinking about the brunette one way or another.

Since Hex High discovered who Amity was—who she really was—things had been surprisingly simple. Everyone still treated her relatively the same, considering. Once in a while a student or two would ask her about a role she played in a movie, or ask for autographs, but at least she wasn’t being bothered by people all the time. 

They were surprisingly nice about it all too. Most people respected her privacy, didn’t crowd her.

Key word being ‘most’. 

That didn’t mean she was completely respected. There were still people who chose to invade her privacy. Whether it was someone asking Amity strange questions or following her in the halls, it seemed like there was a handful of people she couldn’t escape from. 

They served as a reminder that things could go wrong at any moment for Amity. As nice as everything was today, tomorrow could be a completely different story... 

Then there was Boscha. 

The jock was still a jerk. Because of her ‘lack of respect’ she was kicked off the soccer team and was given a month’s worth of detention. Since then, Amity would often find Boscha scowling at her. 

Other than the aftermath of recent events, things had been quiet. 

A little too quiet, actually. 

The actress hummed, flipping another page in her annotated script. She was sitting next to the drama teacher, watching the cast stumble through scenes of Romeo and Juliet.

Everyone had learned a decent portion of the play off-book, considering they had only had two weeks of practice so far and were not used to memorization. 

Amity had slowly, but surely, fallen in love with co-directing. She enjoyed helping people perfect playing their parts. For high school students, they were pretty amazing. Most of them, if not all, took their roles as seriously as a professional would. Amity could actually see one or two of them going somewhere with their talent.

Luz was no exception. There was something magical about the way she preformed. With just a little bit of direction, she easily perfects a scene.

However, there were a couple scenes that Luz had not been so great at...

All of which consisted of flirting or any romance.

Of course it had to be... those... scenes that Luz was bad at!

Romeo was supposed to be flirting with Juliet. And, ironically, Luz couldn't flirt to save her life. 

There was one specific scene that Luz had to kiss Juliet. The brunette looked like a deer in headlights when realizing that. Amity would have been laughing at Luz’s awkward demeanor if she herself wasn’t so jealous. 

Look, she knew that kissing on stage had nothing to do with anything. It was just a stage direction that Luz would have to follow. 

Amity had kissed people on set before. You can’t really play the role of love interest on a tv show without kissing anyone. 

And it was very strictly professional. Amity kissed her co-actress and she was done, life went on. 

But Amity couldn’t help but feel relieved when rehearsal ended early that day, and Luz didn’t kiss anyone. 

Very relieved. 

The drama teacher shook his head, holding a hand up to stop the specific scene being performed. “Luz, what are you doing?”

The brunette shrugged. “Errrr. Flirting?”

He rose an eyebrow. “Then why aren’t you flirting?”

The color drained out of Luz’s face. “I’m a little lost.”

The teacher nodded, offering Luz a reassuring smile. “Okay. Then let’s take the scene from the top.”

The next run through was worse than the last. It was obvious that Luz had no idea what she was doing.

The drama teacher yelled ‘cut’ almost immediatley. 

“Luz, what’s going on with you? You’re usually so good at this...”

“I’m just a little confused on where to take this scene, or any... romantic scene, is all.”

“Well, just act like you do when you flirt.”

Silence. 

“Have you not flirted with anyone before?”

Luz adverted her gaze. “Uhhhhhh... not like this.”

The drama teacher blinked slowly. “You’ve never dated anyone?”

She shook her head.

“Liked anyone? I don’t know—er—have you had a crush on a classmate before? Or maybe on a celebrity? ”

That’s when there was a pause. 

Luz laughed nervously again, face reddening. “Like—yeah, sure—pffft—who hasn’t, am I right? I’ve had a crush on a classmate before and a celebrity—um—not that they were the same person—uhhhhh.... am I rambling???”

Luz took in a shaky breath. “Yes. I’ve had a crush before.”

The teacher hummed. “Why don’t you just pretend that you’re flirting with that person?”

Luz chocked on air, eyes widening. “What???”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay, I think this may be something you’ll have to work on personally. Hey, Amity, could you maybe help Luz with this scene after practice today? We need to get this by tomorrow so we can move on to bigger stuff.”

Luz immediatley stiffens. Amity’s eyes lock with Luz’s for a long moment before she breaks, settling on looking anywhere but at the brunette.  
Amity’s stomach erupted into butterflies when she nodded. Was her face red??? Hopefully not.

“Of course.”

Luz’s performance was mediocre for the rest of rehearsal. She seemed rattled. 

Amity walked up to her the second practice ended. 

She rested a hesitant hand on Luz’s shoulder. The brunette swiveled around to face her, face flushed. 

Luz’s voice escaped her lips in a squeak. “Amity! Er, hey. What can I do ya for?”

The actress couldn’t stop a giggle from escaping her lips. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah! Uh-huh, why wouldn’t I be?”

Amity shrugged. You know, it was kinda cute how flustered Luz was—

Nope. 

Why couldn’t Amity just get over herself already?

She coughed uncomfortably, avoiding Luz’s gaze. “Uh—I was wondering when you wanted to start working on that... scene.”

Luz grimaced. “Right, right. I have work today. If you don’t mind walking to Eda’s, we can do it there?”

Amity offered her a tight smile. “Perfect.”

The two grabbed their bags and left campus.

Okay... it was just her, Luz (who she is miserably crushing on), and a romantic scene from Romeo and Juliet. 

Nothing bad could possibly happen!

The walk is spent in random conversation. Slowly the tension between them lessened before. 

That’s usually what happened when they were together. Despite Amity’s anxiety-inducing crush, spending time with Luz still relaxed her. It was easy to talk to Luz, to be herself around her. 

After some walking, they make it to Eda’s bakery. Luz gave her a lopsided grin as they walked to the kitchen. Amity can hear two familiar voices arguing in the back. 

Eda was lecturing King by the oven, arms crossed and a grimace on her face. “You’re not allowed to eat almond flour by itself! Do you know how sick that can get you???”

King rolled his eyes, wiping the remaining almond flour off his face and fiddling with the Rubik’s cube in his hands. 

Eda walks over to ruffle Luz’s hair, eyes drifting over to the actress. “Amity! What’re you doing here? Not that you’re not welcome, of course! We love your company.”

Amity immediatley tensed.

Right...

“There’s a scene from Romeo and Juliet that Luz is having problems on. We were hoping we could practice while she works?”

Eda grinned, an unreadable glint dancing in her eyes. “Hmm... That sounds wonderful. How about you two work back here while King and I help customers in the front? It’s been a pretty slow day, anyways.”

Luz grinned, walking over to a rack and grabbing an apron. “What do you want me to make?”

“We need more crownies for tomorrow.”

Luz mumbled something along the lines of ‘sure thing’ as she walked around the kitchen. Eda offered Amity a not-so-subtle wink before following King out of the kitchen. 

The brunette pulled out an assortment of boxes stocked with ingredients. She placed them onto the closest table, taking off their lids. 

Amity cleared her throat after a moment, leaning up against the dishwasher. “If you don’t mind me asking... why are you having so many issues with this scene?”

The brunette sighed, back facing Amity. The actress wondered if Luz was as flustered as she sounded when she spoke. “I—uh—I don’t know. I have memorized all the lines and everything... I just never had it in me to flirt. It doesn't seem right flirting with someone I don't... you know... like.”

Amity shifted her weight, heart banging against her ribcage. “Yeah?”

“Definitely. Do you—er—do you have any tips on how to act this scene out?”

Amity hummed, watching Luz as she paced through the kitchen. “Well, I haven't had to perform a scene like this in a while... and it’s super awkward. What’s hard is pretending to reciprocate fake feelings for someone you work with and make it seem believable.”

“How do you do it?”

Amity looked down at her shoes. “I’ve never been good at it, but I recommend, just like our drama teacher had, thinking about someone you care about while performing.”

Luz fumbled with one of the boxes, almost dropping it. she turned to look at Amity, a weary expression on her face. “Why? It seems really excessive to do that.”

She shrugged. “To make it seem authentic, I guess. A romantic scene is vital in making a play like this work.”

Luz reluctantly nodded. “Okay... you have a point.”

The actress rubbed the back of her neck. “Why don’t you give it a go?”

Luz groaned. She rolled her eyes before dropping on one knee with a lopsided grin on her face, shouting out her lines. Amity giggled when realizing that Luz actually trying to overact. The brunette giggled through her exclamations. 

Luz topped off her over-exaggerated performance by bowing dramatically. Amity clapped, a grin twisting her lips. 

The brunette turned around to continue working. A hint of humor resonated in her voice. “How’s that?”

“Honestly? Not as bad as you think...”

Luz chuckled, dumping a bunch of ingredients in a giant mixing bowl. “You’re joking, right?”

Amity shook her head. “Nope. What makes romantic scenes authentic is being able to have the audience feel something. And hey, if you can’t awe them, why not make them laugh?”

The brunette shrugged, turning the mixer on. “Can... can you maybe show me how you’d do it?”

Amity frowned. 

On one hand, she really needed to get this scene down with Luz. Convince her that as difficult this it might be (and it really, really is) to get through, it’s possible.

On the other hand...

What if this scene is what ruins everything? What if Luz sees right through the acting and realizes that there’s something more going on between them?

But Amity needed to do this scene. They had to perfect it by tomorrow, or the entire cast of Romeo and Juliet wouldn’t be able to continue on with other scenes! Besides, Amity had a feeling that she couldn’t say no to Luz... 

And plus, acting out a romantic scene with the girl she’s been crushing on? She could easily nail this.

So Amity hesitantly walks over, tapping the brunette’s shoulder. Luz turns around, eyes widening when realizing how close they were. 

“Amity?”

The actress ignored her exclamation, interlocking their hands.

The brunette stared down at her, eyes wide and cheeks reddening. 

Amity’s heart was racing. She forced herself to hold eye contact, ignoring the stings of ‘ohymygoshohmygosh’ blaring loudly in her brain. 

So she starts reciting. 

Turns out, it’s easy to pretend to be in love someone you’ve already fallen for. Amity found herself confessing through her acting. 

How she felt about Luz, her fear of being rejected, how terrified she was of her own feelings.

Needless to say, confessing was surprisingly easy. 

At first Luz just listened, shock eminent on her face. Then something else, something that Amity can’t interpret, seemed to dawn on the brunette.

She just ignores it, continuing with her acting.

By the time she finishes her recitation, her face is inches away from Luz’s. She was looking down at Amity with a mix of awe and shock, lips parted.

Crap, why weren’t either of them moving away???

Despite her brain’s screaming at her to get the heck out of dodge, her body was frozen in place. 

Luz voice is a whisper, barely audible over the mixer still roaring behind her. “Are... are we still acting?”

“I have no idea.”

Luz took a step impossibly closer, looking down at their entwined hands. “Amity, there’s som—

That’s when Amity gets the most inconvenient phone call in the universe. 

Fucking—

Amity offered Luz an apologetic smile, taking out her phone and contemplating throwing it against the wall. She begrudgingly brought the device to her ear.

“Kikimora.”

“I apologize for calling, Miss Blight, but there is something important that we need to discuss. Are you close to home? I need you to be back as soon as possible.”

Amity frowned. “Is everything alright?”

“Er—yes. But I require your presence.”

“I’ll start heading over.”

Amity hangs up on Kikimora, immediatley looking back at Luz. The brunette was still only inches away from her, lips twisted into a frown. “Kikimora called? Is she alright?”

“I... think so. But—what did you want to tell me? Whatever she wanted can wait another minute.”

Luz opened her mouth to respond, just for it shut it again. “Never mind, it’s not important right now.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

Amity stepped back with a heavy heart.

It was almost painful saying goodbye to Luz. Her mind was racing from everything that had occurred within five minutes. Why did Kikimora need her home? What the heck just happened between her and Luz? 

And most importantly, what did Luz want to tell her???

Amity ignored the butterflies in her stomach, leaving the bakery feeling like she had just missed out on something important.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo closeeee! ;)
> 
> I wanted to shout out to those who helped me catch my errors in the last chapter. It’s easy to forget to correct a word or two when editing. And auto correct, as most of you know, is NOT helpful! So a huge thank you to those who let me know about the error that remained! It is much appreciated. <3
> 
> I hope that you enjoyed this update! Thank you for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya, everyone! 
> 
> Okay, how do I even begin to thank you all? Everyone has been so sweet and supportive!!! I am so happy that I get to share this fic with such amazing readers!
> 
> Here’s this week’s chapter! :)

Luz grimaced, stomach dropping as she watched Amity flee the bakery. She could barely hear anything over the blood rushing in her ears.

The brunette didn’t know if she was relieved or disappointed with the sudden turn of events. 

She was going to do it. 

Luz was going to tell Amity that she liked her. She, in that very second, believed that the risk of losing one of her best friends was worth getting rid of the burden that had been weighing down on her. That maybe, just maybe, Amity could somehow like her back. 

That they could make this work. 

Then Kikimora called.

Maybe this was for the best. Perhaps this was the world’s sick way of telling Luz that she shouldn’t be the one to make a move. Or maybe it wouldn’t they wouldn’t work out at all. 

Luz’s spiraling hopes were disrupted by the kitchen door swinging open. Eda looked down at her with kind eyes, King trailing behind with a mischievous grin on his face.

King grinned. “Hey! So did ya kiss her yet?”

Luz’s face reddened, jaw dropping. “What??? No, of course we—I didn’t even get to—what?!?”

Eda glared down at King, but it was obvious she was trying to bite back a smile. “King is just teasing you, Luz. We know nothing happened.”

The baker’s joking manner faded into what Luz recognized as her ‘mom face’. “King, why don’t you go sit out front?”

King groaned. “Do I have to?”

“If you do, you can have as many cookies as you want.”

King cheered, a smile erupting across his face. He sprinted out from the kitchen. 

Eda waited a second before consulting Luz. “What happened?”

Luz looked down at the kitchen floor, shifting her weight as she spoke. “Nothing.”

“No, really, what happened?”

“That was the problem! Nothing. I was working on lines with Amity. And then—I don’t know—it was like one moment everything was normal, and then the next...”

Eda smiled down at her. “Then what?”

“I was going to tell Amity that I like her.”

Eda’s eyes widened to the size of dinner platters. “You were? That’s awesome!!”

“But it didn’t work out. Amity got a phone call from Kikimora and she left.”

“Oh. Then what is your next move?”

Luz shook her head. “I don’t have one.”

“Why not?”

“It’s just... she’s an actress, you know? I don’t want to be the one to hold her back.”

Eda rolled her eyes. “If anyone would be holding Amity back, it would only be herself. She is a smart girl. And besides, she’d be lucky to be with a girl like you.”

She ruffled Luz’s hair. “Wanna help King fend off customers in the front? I can finish baking back here.”

Luz nodded, offering Eda a tiny smile before leaving the kitchen. 

———

Amity was back home in less than an hour, dumping her book bag down onto the floor. 

“Kikimora? I’m back.”

A familiar voice resonated from the back of the house. “I’m in here!”

Kikimora was sitting at the kitchen table, hands welded together. She offered the actress a weary smile. “We have something of extreme importance to discuss. You should perhaps sit down...”

Amity did what she was told, sinking into the seat across from her agent. 

Kikimora continues, eyes falling to the table. “I’m afraid that I’ve kept something from you for far too long now.”

Amity frowned. “What are you talking about?”

The agent frowned, avoiding Amity’s gaze. “Remember a couple of weeks ago after the first day of rehearsals? I was on the phone talking to someone?”

Amity nodded.

Kikimora sighed. “As you know, someone was offering you a role in an upcoming movie.”

The agent continued. “Well, there is unfortunately a lot more importance to that role than I previously let on. Have you heard of a man named Belos?”

Amity’s blood runs cold. “Belos? Like the director???”

Kikimora winced at the expression on Amity’s face, nodding. “Yes. He was the one who called me.”

The actress lips twisted into a grin. That’s awesome!!! She had seen almost every one of Belos’ movies. Almost all of them were considered masterpieces in the entertainment world. And all grossed a boatload of money. Whether it ranged from comedy to thriller (usually the director focused on the latter), it was sure to be successful. Amity would be willing to bet that Belos was the most successful director of all time!

But why would a man like that want to get in touch with her?

Kikimora, as if having read Amity’s mind, continued. “You see.... Your mother auditioned for a part in one of his upcoming movies about six months ago. Mr. Belos however, was also in need of a younger look alike to your mother, since in this movie the protagonist gets reoccurring flashbacks of her past. When discovering that Mrs. Blight had a daughter in her spitting image, and was herself a talented actress, he wanted to offer you the part. No audition required.”

Amity’s jaw dropped. 

So she was being offered a role in a movie being directed by the most talented and famous director in the history of ever... that her mom was also acting in. The same mom that has not bothered to her call for months.

Why did it feel like she had just been hit by a train??? She didn’t know if she was furious, excited, or just sick.

The agent grimaced. “There’s more, Amity... the first time Belos called me was the first week that we arrived here.”

“He called this—what???”

Kikimora nodded. “And he hasn’t stopped calling since.”

Belos had called five months ago.

“And you didn’t think to tell me??”

Kikimora’s eyes were fixated on the cool surface of the kitchen table, head ducked. “I apologize. You specifically ordered me to turn down any offers given to you while you were here. I hesitated turning it down only because I knew how massive of an opportunity it was. But then again, I understood that you wanted to spend the rest of your semester unbothered by the weight of your career... you wanted to be a kid for a little while longer, and I didn’t want to take that away from you.”

Amity’s softened. 

Kikimora was just doing her job. Amity told her agent to refuse any offers that were given to her, no matter how interesting or opportunistic. She was lucky that Kikimora bothered to tell her about this...

This role could take Amity to the next level. If this movie worked out, she would be able to jumpstart her career. She could get job opportunities left and right! The actress would, assumingely, be set up for life!

But... there must have been a reason that Kikimora kept something this big from her, right?

“What’s the catch?”

Kikimora winced. “Mr. Belos requires that you immediately fly out to New Zealand after accepting his offer, where the filming will take place.”

“When you say immediatley—

The agent nodded. “Your semester will be cut short. You would have to leave in about two weeks, at the latest. Belos really expects you to arrive as early as imaginably possible, but he understands that you may have to take a few days to come to a decision.”

Amity abruptly stood, causing the chair she was sitting in to screech against the tiled floor. She shook her head in disbelief. “I—I’m going to my room. I need to think.”

She ignored the concerned expression on Kikimora’s face, receding to her bedroom and locking the door behind her. She leaned up against the back of it, covering her face. 

What the heck just happened?

How could any of today be real? It was like one second, she was worrying about something as small as confessing her feelings, and now she was thinking about whether she wanted to fly across the world!

But how could she leave now?

She met Luz here, arguably the sweetest, funniest person in the universe! By far the closest friend Amity’s ever had.

And it wasn’t just Luz. Amity a life here! Gus, Willow, Eda and King, Kikimora (but then again, her agent has always been there for her). She loved school, loved being able to walk down a street without being completely swamped by fans. Loved being able to breathe. 

And now she was being asked to leave all that behind?

What was worse, a part of Amity wanted to go!

A part of her wanted to get on that plane. To take an opportunity of a lifetime. And what made it worse, her mom was there.

Amity would finally get a chance to give her a piece of her mind! Demand to know exactly why her mom didn’t bother to call or text her. Why the actress hadn’t even seen her, or her father, in forever. 

Who could blame her?

All Amity ever wanted was to be able to connect with her family like regular people did with theirs. And she never got that. 

Maybe she could finally live up to her parents’, at least her mother’s, expectations. Just this once. 

But why leave a place that made her happy? Why leave all she had built here to take a chance on something she might not even like?

Amity groaned, tucking her knees into her chest.

What does she do?

———

Kikimora ran a hand down her face. Watching as Amity disappeared into her room.

How does she even begin to fix this? 

The agent should have told Amity about the opportunity the moment Mr. Belos offered it, before she even met Luz. Maybe they could have avoided all this heartbreak...

Kikimora had to make it up to Amity, in any way she could.

———

The next morning, about an hour and a half before school started, Kikimora found herself pushing through bakery doors. She was greeted by the aroma of fresh cookies and coffee.

The agent scanned the room, searching for a teen with short brown hair and a lopsided grin. 

Instead the baker with grey hair and a mischievous glint in her eyes—‘Eda’, if Kikimora remembered correctly—calls her over. “Kikimora, it’s great to see you again!”

She offered the baker a smile. “Hello.”

Eda leaned over the counter. “What can I get ya?”

The agent sighed, looking down at the assortment of goods. “Um, what does Amity usually get?”

As if on cue, she hears a familiar voice chirp from within the kitchen. “Amity???”

Luz immediatley rushes from the kitchen doors, eyes darting around. They almost immediately land on Kikimora. “Oh hey! Amity’s not with you?”

The agent shook her head, a frown pulling at her lips. “No, unfortunately. She had a... trying night.”

The brunette’s eyes widen. “Is she okay?”

Eda rested a hand on the teen’s shoulder. “Why don’t you head back to the kitchen and let the adults talk, hmm?”

Luz opens her mouth to argue, only to shut it again. She hesitantly nods, shuffling back to the kitchen. 

Eda pulls her gaze back to the agent. “Sorry about that, Luz sometimes forgets that some things are personal.”

Kikimora shrugs. “It’s alright. It’s just... I made a mistake.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. I kept something from Amity that was one can consider... important. She was very upset about what I had to say to her.”

“Huh. I’m sure she’ll bounce back from it soon. Kids are resilient that way.”

“I’m not so sure this time... but never mind that. I’m hoping that getting her something to eat will help her feel better.”

Eda nods sympathetically. “From what I remember of Amity’s visits, she often got hot chocolate and cookies.”

“That would be perfect.”

The baker turns around to work. She calls the brunette back out from the kitchen. “Luz, take one of those large paper cups and write something for Amity on it.”

Luz nods, grabbing a cup and sharpie from next to the cash register.

Within a minute and Kikimora is being handed a paper bag full of cookies and a cup with messy handwriting on it. Eda offered the agent a warm smile. “Free of charge.”

Kikimora’s eyes widened. “Really? Are you sure that you—

The baker waved her off. “Of course! If you really want to repay me some way, stop by and see me again sometime or another. Maybe even bring Amity next time for lover-girl right here.”

Luz’s face immediately reddens. She turns on her heel and disappears into the kitchen at the speed of light.

Kikimora smiled. She knew it!!! She looked back up at Eda, who had a satisfied grin on her face. 

———

After a relatively sleepless night, Amity hears a cautious knock at her door. 

The actress rubbed at her eyes, vision blurry from exhaustion. She was pondering whether to respond when Kikimora calls out. 

“I got you some breakfast—er—from Eda’s.”

Amity blinked, running hand through her hair. She forced herself up from her bed, trudging over to open her door. 

Her agent was a couple feet away, a coffee cup in one hand and a bag of pastries in another. Kikimora smiled down at her. 

“Here.”

Amity takes the cup and bag. Upon further inspection, she notices a note scribbled in sharpie on the side of the cup. 

‘Heya, Amity! I heard from Kikimora that you aren’t feeling very well. I hope you’re doing okay! If you need someone to talk to, you can always text me.

Luz

Amity’s eyes widened. “Did you tell Luz about Belos?”

She shook her head. “No one but you and I know about Belos at the moment—and your mother of course. I merely admitted to Eda and Luz that I made a mistake in keeping something from you that I shouldn’t have.”

Amity nods, taking a sip from the coffee cup. She smiled when realizing it was hot chocolate.

Kikimora rubbed the back of her neck. “May I come in?”

Amity nodded. 

Her agent steps inside, sitting down in the chair next to Amity’s desk. “How are you feeling?”

“Honestly? I don’t know. I have no idea what to do anymore.”

“How come?”

The actress just shook her head. “How can I leave her? I... Luz is the best friend I could have ever asked for. And I was hoping that maybe one day, before I left, that I could tell her just how much I like her... that I could ask her out.”

Kikimora failed to suppress a smile. “I see...”

“And it’s not just about her. I have friends. There’s Eda, Gus, and Willow. And I love school, love being able to learn with kids my age! There’s just so much freedom in being here...”

“So are you planning on declining Mr. Belos offer?”

Amity groaned. “That’s the problem. This opportunity is huge. Saying no to Belos might actually be the equivalent of saying no to a million—maybe more—dollars! And... it wouldn’t hurt to get to know my mom better.”

They sat in a painful silence, Kikimora resting a hand on the Amity’s shoulder while she drank her hot chocolate. 

“What do you think I should do?”

Kikimora sighed. “It’s very difficult for me to say. You are practically choosing between your happiness and your future. You could leave. You would get an opportunity to boost your popularity, get opportunities you can’t even dream of. But you would lose everything you had here.”

“That sounds terrible.”

“On the other, you stay. You get to be with Luz and the rest of your friends, and miss out on the chance of a lifetime. You could lose your career, everything you’ve been working towards.”

“That also sounds terrible.”

Kikimora patted her shoulder, a empathetic frown on her face. “I’m so sorry, Amity. No kid your age should have to make a decision like this.”

She stood up as she spoke. “I will let you skip school today, so you’ll have time to really think about it. I’ll be in the kitchen if you want to talk some more about it, okay?”

Kikimora slips out of the room, leaving Amity to finish her food. 

Amity had a feeling that the next few weeks were going to be difficult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ;)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hold on to your hats, my friends, this chapter is... 
> 
> No spoilers! ;)

Luz’s POV:

Something was very wrong with Amity.

The actress seemed far away, spaced out. Luz was willing to bet that if a bomb went off behind her, Amity wouldn’t even notice. 

Luz first just blamed it on a case of the Mondays. Everyone can a bad day once in a while, right? 

But Luz had a bad feeling that this was more than just Amity being miffed. 

There was something seriously off about the way she was acting. She couldn’t sit still, couldn’t look people in the eye. 

Luz did her best to cheer Amity up. She made terrible jokes, made a fool of herself, did anything to get the actress to laugh.

No dice. 

Although she did get Amity to crack a smile, or even giggle, it was still not effective enough in making her feel better.

So when Wednesday rolled around and Amity as still acting strange, Luz was worried. 

Could have it been something she did? Or maybe Boscha was meddling again?

She finally—finally worked up the courage to confront Amity. 

The whole morning, Luz rehearsed the conversation in her head. She promised herself that whatever Amity had to tell her, that it couldn’t be too bad. Hey, maybe it was something as simple as just getting a bad test grade back!

She waited by the actress’ locker in between classes, contemplating if running away was still an option. 

Amity turned the corner carrying a load of textbooks. She offered Luz a sad smile. “Hey! What’s up?”

Luz ignored the loud ‘ABORT’ blaring loudly in her head. “Are you okay?”

Amity hesitated a second before replying, shoulders slumping. She shoved her heap of books into her locker. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Luz shook her head. “Amity, I need to know what’s wrong—

“I’m fine! I already told you.”

—I won’t know how to fix the problem until you tell me what’s got you so upset... please.”

Amity was still for a long movement, head ducked. Next thing Luz knows, she’s being crushed in a hug. Amity’s face was buried into the brunette’s neck, arms wrapped tightly around her waist. Luz doesn’t hesitate to return the gesture. 

She knew something was wrong, but this? What could have happened?

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. What’s wrong?”

The actress just shook her head. They stayed like that for a while. Neither of them moved when the bell rung for the next class. 

“It’s... something happened last Thursday and I... I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Yeah?”

The actress nodded miserably, biting down on her bottom lip. “Kikimora... she had been hiding something from me—it’s not her fault though—she was just doing her job. She told me about this massive movie opportunity. I got offered a main role, and I’d have to be insane not to take it.”

Luz grinned. “But that’s incredible! Why are you so upset?”

“If I go, I have to leave in a week. Otherwise I might not get there in time.”

Oh.

Oh....

“How far?”

“New Zealand.”

It took a moment her voice to work. “If you go, when will you come back?”

“I don’t know. It could be months just to do this movie... and I also have to go back and film for my TV show this summer up in Canada too. It can be a really long while.”

Luz couldn't stop a tiny gasp from leaving her lips.

“But I would be crazy to turn it down! Have you heard of a guy with the last name Belos?”

“No. Should I have heard about him before?”

“He’s this crazy famous director... and he offered me a pretty big part in an upcoming film and...”

“What?”

Amity sighed. “If I accept.... I’ll be in a movie with my mom in it...”

Luz’s eyes widened. “Your mom will be there???”

“Yeah. Considering that all the best actors are flocking to star in the movie, it’s practically guaranteed to be a massive hit.”

“And then what would happen?”

“My career would take off! After being in a movie that Belos directed? It would really boost my opportunities.... but I would have to leave here early. I don’t know what to do.”

“So you haven’t made a decision yet.”

“No...”

A thousand thoughts raced through Luz’s head, all ranging somewhere between ‘holy crap’ and ‘oh fuck’.

Amity could be leaving her. 

———

Luz tried to look at what Amity had said in a positive light, but the more she thought about it the wronger she felt. 

Amity was right about this! She has a crazy incredible opportunity. She could become famous, make enough money that she might never have to worry about auditioning again, she could even see her mom...

It all sounded great!

But the more Luz thought about it, downsides began to take shape. 

For one, what’s with Odalia Blight?

Luz was starting to feel as if she had been right in predicting Amity’s relationship with her parents. It seemed to be playing a massive factor into Amity’s decision. 

Amity had lived here for months now, and she’s only mentioned her mom twice—let alone her dad—around Luz. 

And considering that Luz hadn’t seen the Blight parents around at all, she would be willing to bet that Amity hadn’t seen her parents in a very long time. 

Like—how didn’t Amity know that her mom had auditioned for a movie like this until now? Amity had to learn about all this from Kikimora? How hard would it be for Odalia to pick up a damn phone and tell her daughter herself???

Will Amity be happy if she goes?

It was just.... she seemed so happy here. Luz remembered how wound up Amity had been when she first started at Hex high. It took a long time for her to let her guard down, act like a regular teenager would.

And what if she goes back? 

It meant that everything that Amity had gained here—friends, freedom, happiness—wouldn’t that all be gone? It would be kind of tough maintaining friendships from over hundreds of miles away...

That’s what Luz was most worried about. 

Out of all of the things she didn’t want to happen, it was for Amity to be upset where she was. And hey, if that meant Amity going away for a while, then Luz would be more than willing to let her go.

Right?

———

Neither of the teens brought the movie up until late the next day. It was after drama rehearsal, and they were the only ones left in the theater. 

Luz wanted to get some extra practice in with a few scenes. Maybe take her mind off of everything. 

And being the awesome (and infuriating) person she was, Amity offered to stay longer and help out. 

Luz eventually decided that she couldn’t work on the scenes anymore without going insane, so she hopped off the stage (tripped more like, but only she and Amity knows that) and sat down next to Amity in a row of empty seats. 

Her eyes locked with golden, her lips twisting into a lopsided grin. “Did I get any better?”

Amity offered her a warm smile. “A little.”

“Oh come on! I’m amazing and you know it!”

The actress rolled her eyes. “And annoying too, but yes.... I guess you can be amazing... sometimes. Maybe.”

Luz chuckled. They sat there in a comfortable silence, keeping each other company. This might be one of her favorite things to do with Amity. To just be with each other, the two of them. No theatrics (pun definitely intended), no one else to take into consideration. It was peaceful.

Well, kind of. Luz’s heart still rammed against her ribcage. And she was trying her best to ignore the fact that their hands were ever-so-slightly touching. 

“Any updates on the movie?”

Amity groaned at Luz’s words. “Not really... I’ve just been doing a lot of thinking, weighing all the pros and cons.”

Luz tensed when she felt a light pressure weighing down on her shoulder. 

It took Luz a solid five seconds for her brain to catch up with what was happening. 

Amity had nestled closer to Luz, head resting on Luz’s shoulder. 

Amity was still talking, but Luz could barely hear over the blood rushing in her ears. Oh crap, could she tell how fast her heart was beating???

Luz hesitantly wrapped her arm around Amity’s waist, resting her own head against Amity’s. 

It took a hot moment for Luz to comprehend what Amity was saying again.

“—I just... there’s things I wanna do here. Things I haven’t been able to do before. But what if I make the wrong choice? What if everything I’ve been working towards just... disappears? Then what do I do?”

Luz hummed in response, prompting the actress to continue. 

“If... let’s just say that you got this crazy awesome baking opportunity at a culinary school. But you would have to leave everyone here behind. What would you do, Luz?”

The brunette grimaced. She hadn’t really thought about what she would do if she was in Amity’s position. Mostly because she would go crazy having to make a choice like that!

She loved baking! There was something just so incredible about it. Although many people she knew would beg to differ, Luz thought it was relaxing. 

Luz first started baking when she was around six. Her mom was failing to make cookies for her elementary school’s bake sale. It took a lot of convincing, but Camilla let Luz help make the dough. 

Luz never stopped baking after that. It didn’t matter where she was, Luz would always find a way to bake. 

That’s why when Luz and her mom moved here and their oven had broken, Luz immediatley applied for a summer job at a bakery within a ten mile radius. 

And of course Eda was the baker to accept! 

When the summer ended, Luz refused to quit the job.

Not long after that, Luz started wondering whether she wanted to continue working in a bakery after high school ended. There was nothing else that she had ever been so passionate about. Luz knew—both from instinct and experience—that she could bake for days on end without needing so much as a break. 

It definitely helped that she had Eda and King with her. Both of them taught her that there’s more to baking than just making food. Running a bakery was a business, a lifestyle. You had to socialize, always wear a smile, wake up before the crack of dawn to be ready for the morning rush. 

And as time passed, the more sure Luz was sure that this was what she wanted to do. There was not one thing she disliked about baking. 

So what would she do? If she got this massive opportunity? 

She bit down on her bottom lip. “I.... wouldn’t go.”

Amity looked up at her with wide eyes. “Why not?”

“There’s too much for me to lose. Eda, king, my mom—I would stay. But not because of the reasons that you might... It would be easier for me to continue baking here... I could just sign up for another culinary school after senior year.”

Amity stayed silent for a long time. “Do you think I should stay?”

Luz tensed. Everything in her wanted to scream ‘yes.’ Beg Amity to stay with her. 

But Luz knew better than that. 

“You should do what makes you happy in the long run, Amity. It doesn’t matter if you are happy with your choice for a week, or a month.”

“What do you mean?”

Luz’s heart ached. “You don’t want to regret not doing something. If you don’t risk anything, you’ll never know what could have been... would you be willing to give up your career, something you’ve been working towards your entire life, just to go to school for two more years?”

Amity nestled closer, hand blindly searching for Luz’s. A sense of remorse washes over the brunette as their fingers interlock. “I don’t want to go... I don’t want to lose you, or Gus, or Willow... or anything here, really. I care about you all too much.”

“But leaving doesn't mean you lose us, Amity.”

“But...”

“Amity... do you like acting?”

The actress didn’t hesitate to respond. “I love it... I love getting into character, traveling the world and meeting people like me.”

Luz could feel something in her break when she spoke. She hoped that Amity couldn't tell she was on the verge of crying. “You should go then...”

They stayed like that a long while, letting everything sink in.

———

The news that Amity was leaving Hex High spread through the school like a wild fire. Everyone reacted differently. 

Some students thought that this opportunity was incredible. They were proud of Amity for being brave enough to fly out all the way to New Zealand. 

Others were infuriated, hating the idea of such a sweet and responsible student having to leave everything behind just to rehearse a few dumb lines in some random movie. 

Amity and Luz were almost inseparable the next few days. It didn’t matter when or where. If Luz was working at the bakery, Amity was there. And when the actress was in the library, Luz would be bouncing around in the different sections. 

Neither of them brought up the fact that Amity was leaving. 

And of course, the school was forced to suffer through it. Students were being driven crazy by the continuous game of romantic chicken that they had been playing. 

Despite the differing opinions on Amity’s decision, all of the school was on the verge of screaming ‘KISS BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE, YOU LOSERS’!

Unfortunately no one was actually brave enough to scream that in the halls. As much as everyone hoped someone would. 

A week drifted by in a haze. And sooner than anyone but Boscha could have liked, Amity’s last day at Hex high came to a close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That’s the chapter!
> 
> I guess we have finally reached the angst that people love/hate so much! Don’t worry, the next update is extra long for you all! I think it ranges between three to four thousand words! 
> 
> Have a wonderful rest of the weekend. :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> I don’t know why, but am extremely exited to share this chapter in particular with you all. Hopefully you enjoy it!

Amity’s POV:

The actress sighed, standing in the middle of her empty bedroom. 

It was almost dark out, the sun dipping low against the horizon. Amity wondered if she was just being nostalgic, or if every sunset here was that beautiful and she just never noticed.

Earlier that day, all the Ikea furniture that Amity and Kikimora built had been carted out by movers.

Amity eyes drifted down to her worn suitcase. Everything she had—clothes, devices, prized possessions—all fit into a Rollie bag and a backpack. It was almost kind of sad. 

Not that today was anything but sad. 

It didn’t take long after Luz told her to go for Amity to call Belos back herself and accept the offer. She knew in the back of her mind that this was the probably for the best...

Right? 

Kikimora grunted, dragging a duffle bag out from her own room. It was comedic how tiny she was compared to her luggage. She offered the actress a sad smile before continuing her trek out of the house. 

Amity followed. 

For the first time ever, the actress felt a sense of remorse in moving away from a place. Before it was just natural. Amity had no reason to stay because she wasn’t leaving anything behind.

Until today.

She tugged at her hoodie’s sleeve, grimacing. 

The taxi still hadn’t showed up. It’s been almost an hour!

Kikimora rolled her eyes, grumbling as she pulled out her phone and dialed a number into it. 

After a heated argument, Kikimora hung up on the taxi driver. “He’s definitely not coming, Amity. I am afraid that he is stuck in traffic across town. And if he does get here, he will wish he was never born.”

Amity chuckled. “It’ll be fine, Kikimora... we just need to find someone else to take us.”

Kikimora gasped. “Oh! I know—

She dialed another number into her phone. There response was instant.

“Hello? It’s me. Yes, Amity and I are fine... but we are in need of some assistance.”

Amity rose an eyebrow. Who the heck could she be talking to?

Kikimora hummed. “Yes, the taxi we called is stuck in traffic, and I am worried that we may not make it to the airport on time. I know it’s late at night, but I was hoping that maybe—really? You will?... uh-huh...That would be more than sufficient! I don’t know how to thank you...Okay, so you’ll also bring the kid? That sounds perfect. I’ll see you later.”

Kikimora grinned as she hung up. “I found us a ride.”

Amity’s head tilted to the side. “Who did you call?”

“Eda.”

“Eda? But isn’t it getting a little late? What if—

Kikimora shrugged. “She told me that it wouldn’t be a problem. She said that Luz wanted to see you again before you left anyways.”

Amity didn’t know whether she was relieved or terrified. 

She would get to see Luz again!

But Luz being there will make leaving a hundred times harder. This time because she will ACTUALLY have to walk away from her. 

And honestly, Amity didn’t know if she could do that...

About twenty minutes later and a bright red convertible screeches down the still neighborhood. 

Eda was in the drivers’ seat, a pair of shades blocking her eyes and a wide smile twisting her lips. 

Luz was in the back, hands clutching the side of the door and the seat belt, as if she was terrified that Eda would crash any second. 

The convertible screeched to a halt and Eda got out of the car. “Hey, Kikimora, Amity! Your carriage has arrived!”

Kikimora rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips turned up. 

Luz also rolled her eyes, tumbled out of the convertible. “Don’t mind Eda. She likes to think owning a bright red car and wearing sunglasses at night makes her cool...”

Eda huffed, crossing her arms. “Watch your tone, young lady! My car is awesome and you know it! And you of ALL people should know that I wear sunglasses so cops won’t recognize me.”

Amity chuckled at Eda’s exclamation. 

The group worked together to haul luggage into the trunk. Amity finds herself in the back with Luz, and Kikimora riding shotgun next to Eda. 

Amity frowned as the house disappeared from view. She crossed her arms, ignoring the dread building up in her chest.

“You’re gonna miss it, huh?”

Amity turned to look at Luz. The brunette’s windswept hair uncharacteristically fell into dark brown eyes, which were locked with her own. A familiar grin twisted her lips, as charming as ever. 

That’s when it hits Amity exactly what—who—she was leaving behind. 

She completely forgets to respond, immediately grabbing for Luz’s hand and entwining their fingers. Luz seemed to understand, thumb tracing circles over Amity’s skin. 

Amity pushes her thoughts to the back of her mind, instead listening to the conversation between Kikimora and Eda.

She didn’t want to think about the fact that she was losing her best friend. The only person who actually made her feel like she was home.

They arrive at the airport sooner than Amity would have liked. 

Eda parks, looking at the teens through the review mirror. “Alright! Kiki”—she ignored the agent’s complaints of the nickname—“and I’ll take care of the baggage claim and all that jazz. Why don’t you two wrap it up back here?”

Amity nodded, grateful that she would get to say goodbye to Luz without adults breathing down their necks. 

Kikimora and Eda offered them sad smiles before heading inside the airport. 

Luz and Amity shared a grimace as they tumbled out from the convertible. 

The brunette sighed, a defeated slump in her shoulders. “So this is it?”

Amity nodded, biting down on her bottom lip. “I think so...”

Luz rolled her eyes, a smile on her lips. “You’re supposed to say something like ‘no, I’ll write you a letter everyday until we see each other again’ or some strange crap like that!”

Amity giggled. “Write you letters? What year is it in your brain, the seventeen hundreds?”

Luz chuckled, shrugging. They both chose to ignore the fact that tears began to steam down the brunette’s face.

Amity fought back her own tears. “You know that this doesn’t mean forever. I’m coming back... it just be a little while.”

Luz sniffled. “You better text me, you idiot.”

A tear slid down Amity’s cheek. 

Next thing she knew, the actress was clinging to Luz. 

Why the hell did she think that leaving was a good idea??? 

Luz sighed, pulling Amity in closer. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

Something was screaming at Amity from the back of her mind. Telling her that this was the last time she would ever get to hold Luz.

That this was the last chance to tell Luz just how much she liked her. 

But between the tears stinging her eyes and the sobs sabotaging her movements, the words Amity wanted so badly to say got caught up in her throat. So she just resorted to nestling further into Luz. 

They stayed like that for too little. What bystanders would say neared an eternity of them just holding each other, Amity would think was barely a minute. 

Amity knew their time was up when she felt a hesitant hand on her back. It was physically painful letting go of Luz. The second they were apart, Amity had to restrain from running right back into her arms. 

Kikimora nodded at the teens. “We have to get going. We don’t have much time to get through customs and to the plane.”

Luz took a step back, to where Eda had settled. 

Amity needed to stay strong. Just for one more minute. 

She forced herself to smile. “I’ll come back, Luz. I don’t have any idea of when... but I’ll come back.”

Luz merely nodded, wiping at her eyes. 

Amity stared at her best friend. 

It was her fault that Luz was feeling this way. 

It was her fault.

Kikimora hesitantly took Amity’s hand, leading her to the airports entrance. 

———

Amity numbly stumbled around her new apartment. Belos had insisted on paying for it, saying that he wanted his cast to experience only the best. 

All the actress really wanted to do was collapse. 

She had arrived early yesterday morning. She beelined to her room and passed out. Didn’t even bother to unpack, worn out from exhaustion. 

The next morning was spent in a deafening silence. Amity spent most of her day learning her lines. It was the only way she could ignore the emotions beating down on her like a sledgehammer. She worked until late afternoon. 

That’s when Amity heard a knock on her door. Kikimora slipped in, a grimace on her face.  
“Mr. Belos just called. He was hoping that you could join him and some of the other crew mates for dinner tonight?”

Amity tensed. She was still not used to the idea of working with an infamous director, let alone be in a room of equally famous actresses and actors. And she refused to think about her mom. 

Kikimora continued. “He seemed pretty insistent on the phone. Belos really wants to meet you.”

Amity sighed, looking down at the movie’s script one last time before standing. “When?”

The agent offered her a sad smile. “We have to leave for the restaurant in about an hour. Try to look as good as you can manage with the time you have.”

Amity nodded, shuffling over to her unpacked suitcase and rummaging through it. It didn’t take long for her to find a carefully folded dress shirt and slacks. She used to wear this outfit all the time before she went to Hex high. 

Amity couldn’t say that she missed it. 

Kikimora’s voice rung softly from the doorway of her room. “How are you holding up?”

Amity froze. Her head ached, she was exhausted, there was a heavy feeling in her chest... and all she could think about was Luz. 

“I’m not.”

The agent hummed in understanding. “I know.... Amity, I want to let you know that I’m here for you. However you may need it.”

Amity looked over her shoulder, offering Kikimora a smile before taking her clothes into the bathroom. 

She took a long shower. 

With nothing much to do in there, she couldn’t help but think. At first she was just nervous about meeting Belos. But the throbbing emotions and regrets that had been building up inside her since yesterday threatened to escape. 

She hadn’t texted Luz yet. 

Amity was too exhausted yesterday to even look at her phone without her heart aching. Throughout all of today, she avoided it. 

Because she had a terrible feeling that one call—one text—might be enough to turn her right around. Something as simple as a conversation over the phone and Amity would be on a flight straight back to Hex high. 

Could anyone blame her?

So after getting dressed, drying her hair, and putting on enough make up of impress her coworkers, she picked up her phone. 

But Kikimora rushed in and told her that they were running late. So the actress followed her agent out of her room and out of the apartment, leaving the phone behind.

———

Amity tumbled out of the rental car. Kikimora sighed, following suit. 

They were in the parking lot of some overtly expensive restaurant. She felt out of place, standing across from the bright, bold building. 

Amity grimaced. “We’re not going to have to pay for this, right?”

Kimora barked out a laugh. “I think even using both your and my wallet, we wouldn’t be able to pay for an appetizer!”

Amity allowed an easy smile to twist her lips. 

At least she still had Kikimora. 

Her stomach dropped when she saw a tall man standing by the entrance. He wore a suit that looked more expensive than the entire restaurant (and that was saying something).

That couldn’t be Belos, could it?

She followed her agent to the entrance of the restaurant, eyeing Kikimora as they walked. The agent had a forced smile tugging at her lips. 

Sooner than Amity could have liked, she was standing in front of the man.... okay, maybe she was attempting to hide behind Kikimora. Can you blame her? It was hard enough to comprehend working with a famous director—but did he have to be 6’11? 

The man immediately stuck his hand out for the agent to shake. His deep voice sent chills down Amity’s spine. “Kikimora, I presume. It is a pleasure to finally meet you in person.” 

His attention turned to Amity, his blue eyes burning holes into hers. “Considering your many similarities to Odalia, you must be the Amity Blight?”

She nodded, a rehearsed smile on her lips. “I am. I am also very excited to start working with you and the cast.”

Belos offered her a grin. Although, at least to Amity, it looked more like he was bearing his teeth. “I wanted to be the first to meet you, so I could properly introduce you to everyone.”

Amity’s heart raced. Words escaped her lips before she could stop them. “Is my mom here yet?”

Belos shrugged, shaking his head. “She said that she might be a few minutes late due to traffic. But she should be joining us tonight. I take it that you haven’t seen Odalia in a while, then?”

Amity bit back her ‘is it that fucking obvious’, just nodding in response. 

Belos hummed in sympathy. He looked over his shoulder at the restaurant. “Why don’t you two follow me inside? We are situated on the balcony. The one on the second floor.”

Belos beckoned them inside. The second he turned around to walk up the stairs, Amity searched for Kikimora’s hand. 

The agent gave her slight smile, lightly squeezing her hand.

They make it to the second floor’s balcony, which overlooked Auckland’s port. The city lights reflected off the eerily still water.

Amity shook the hands of various cast members. 

She sat between Belos and Kikimora, and right across from what she was hoping would be an empty seat for the entirety of dinner. 

At first she was just listening as Belos laughed amongst the different crew members. Most of them dressed like they had a million dollars just to spare on tonight. The actress shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling underdressed. 

About ten minutes later and painfully familiar voice—not because she has always heard it, but because it sounded shockingly familiar to her own—sounded off from behind her. 

“Sorry I am late, everyone! Traffic was terrible!”

Amity contemplated whether to sink down further into her seat or pick up the stake knife and hurtle it in her mother’s direction. Before she could do either of those, Odalia walked around the table and sits down. 

Odalia looked exactly how Amity had last seen her. She wore over excessive jewelry, her massive diamond earrings resembling that of chandeliers. Her long brown hair had been carefully pulled back into a braid.

Odalia hadn’t looked at her daughter yet. 

Amity’s eyes drifted back to Kikimora. The agent’s jaw was clenched, eyes burning holes into the actress across the circular table. 

Belos bared his teeth at the woman. “Odalia! I’m ecstatic that you could make it here so soon, considering.”

Odalia nodded. The smile on her face looked stupidly unnatural. “Me too.”

Belos continued. “I have just had the pleasure of meeting your daughter, Amity.”

Odalia only then spares a glance at the teen. “Ah, seems you have. Hello, dear, it has been a while.”

Amity just blinked in response. 

Belos filled the silence. “How long has it been since you have seen each other, Odalia? I understand you have been working with me since late September.”

The actress hummed. “Seems... perhaps maybe a year? We saw each other for the Holidays for about a week.”

Kikimora sighed, voice barely above a whisper. “That was two years ago.”

Belos was either smart enough not to look surprised, or he genuinely didn’t care, because he just smiled and nodded. A couple crew members offered Amity shyly concerned smiles before gluing their eyes back to Belos and Odalia. 

Belos turned his attention back to Amity. “So... I hope you do not mind me asking, but I have been extremely puzzled why you took so long to arrive here.”

Amity shifted in her seat uncomfortably, aware that now everyone was staring at her. “I decided to take—well, I guess you could say break—from acting. I was planning on going to a normal public school for a semester, just to see what it was like to learn and socialize with people my age. It took a lot of convincing to shorten that experience and fly out here.”

Belos rose an eyebrow, his lapis eyes widening. “That’s all? There must be more to your story—

Odalia’s voice piped up from across the table. “It was a boy, wasn’t it?”

Amity broke eye contact with the director, face hot. “Er—well—

Odalia rolled her eyes, a monstrous smile distorting her features. “I used to get the same look on my face whenever someone brought up my husband when I was younger! But I’m sure all my daughter is experiencing is puppy love—

Amity opened her mouth to respond, only to shut it when Belos clasped his hands together. “I have to admit, that makes more sense! Although I personally never had to experience that, I have met a concerning amount of actors and actress who were hesitant to leave behind their... counterparts. Who was this boy of yours?”

Amity opened her mouth to respond, but instead she heard Kikimora. The agent’s voice was tight, as if she was holding back an avalanche of insults. “Her name was Luz. A very bright young woman.”

The reaction of the table was almost hilarious. 

It wasn’t like Kikimora outed Amity. Amity’s sexuality was already posted on her blog and social media. Everything about her online presence was also always accompanied with a subtle sign here or there. 

Most of the crew smiled. Amity would be willing to bet that they were more than happy to hear Odalia be proven wrong. 

Belos’ expression remained unchanged. It seemed that Luz’s gender made no difference in the slightest to him.

Odalia’s mouth hung open. Kikimora just smiled back, spite radiating from her. 

Belos continued. “Luz? What an interesting name! Tell us about her.”

Amity nodded, ignoring her mother’s expression. “Well... there’s so much to say about her really... she’s my age so we were in the same class together. The first time we met, she hit me with a dodgeball—she was really sorry about it, but I had a black eye for forever after that! I don’t know.... she just made a huge effort to get to know me, not because I’m an actress but just because she genuinely cared.”

Belos, along with a good amount of the cast, urged her to continue. 

So Amity did with a tiny smile on her face. She had to admit that talking about Luz was incredible. Amity almost wished that she could tell the entire universe about Luz. If anyone deserved all this fame, it was her. 

“She really likes baking too. She told me that she’s been in love with it since she could walk! She works in a bakery almost every day. Luz... there’s just something so different about her.”

She continued, forgetting that she had an audience. “And her smile was just so simple. She never asked for anything but a chance. Luz was always there for me. Hell... I think that she’d do anything for the people she loved. I asked her what I should do when I found out about this opportunity... and she said that she wanted me to do what I loved. But what she didn’t get was that I was in...”

Belos nodded. “So that’s why it must have been so difficult to leave. I understand completely.”

Another crew mate had a frown on his face. He looked genuinely upset. “You must really miss her.”

Amity nodded. Suddenly the gaping hole that she had been trying to ignore for so long was more visible than ever.

Amity missed Luz. More than she’s ever missed anyone or anything she could even remember. Her parents didn’t even hold a candle to it. That was because the Blights were never really parents... 

But Luz was so much more to Amity. 

This was going to be a million times harder than Amity thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay...
> 
> So I have been thinking about the word ‘airport’. It took me a long time but I finally get it. It’s an air... port. Like a port by the ocean... but it’s for the air!!! Is it just me who never really thought about that until now? 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Next chapter is on it’s way soon!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!
> 
> Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who has read, left kudos, and commented on this fic. I am so grateful that I get to share this with you! <3

Luz’s POV:

Luz stared down at her textbook. The words on each page were nothing more than just scribbles to her, a language she couldn’t decipher. She squinted down at it, trying to make out anything that made sense. 

“Luz?”

She continued squinting down at her textbook. 

“Luz!”

She flinched, eyes darting up to look between Gus and Willow. They shared a concerned frown. 

Willow rested a hesitant hand on the brunette’s forearm. “Are you okay? You’ve barely touched your lunch.”

She blinked. 

Honestly? Luz had no idea. Maybe that was because she refused to acknowledge that anything was wrong. 

Refused to acknowledge the empty seat right next to her—

“I’m great.” 

Luz looked back down at her book, promptly ending the conversation that had started. 

That had been Luz’s plan for the past few days. She would Ignore everything until she wasn’t in danger of breaking down anymore. It didn’t help that her friends, teachers—even people she’s never met before—looked at her like she was some wounded animal. Everyone had been walking on egg shells around her since Amity....

Luz pushed the thought to the back of her head, forcing herself to focus on the gibberish in her textbook.

———

Class was worse. A thousand times worse.

At least in the halls, most people didn’t bother Luz much.

But class was really awful. Luz would be forced to sit in class and pay attention to whatever lesson was going on while pretending to ignore the concerned stares. It was like every minute she had at least two pairs of eyes on her. 

She even caught Boscha glancing over once.

This particular day, Luz resorted to tuning Lilith out and staring out the window. She watched as puffy white clouds drifted lazily past her line of sight.

She packs up minutes before the bell even rang, antsy to get out of class.

Usually she would be subtly passing a note to Amity, or would be doing something stupid to make her laugh. 

And she would sit through to the very end of class and wait for Amity to finish taking notes and pack up—

The bell blared deafeningly throughout the school. Luz lifted her backpack off the ground, making her way to the front of the room to leave.

Right before she reached the door, a hesitant hand rests on her shoulder. “Luz! Can you wait here a moment?” 

She turned around to face Lilith. “Um—sure—I guess. Did I do something wrong? Did I forget to turn something in?”

The teacher shook her head. “No, no, of course not. Actually, all your homework assignments have been wonderful! There is something else I want to talk to you about.”

Luz rose an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

Lilith sighed. “Look. The other teachers and I can’t help but notice that you have been rather zoned out since for the past week... maybe even little before that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Luz, it’s obvious that there is something wrong. Many of your teachers... we are arguing over whether we should be addressing your parent about this behavior. I would like to avoid getting into the personal lives of my students, but I wanted to let you know that if there is something you may need that I’m here for you. Alright?”

Luz frowned. “I’m fine, really. I don’t know why people keep asking me if I’m okay.”

Lilith just nodded, an unconvinced smile twisting her lips. “You’re free to go.”

———

Luz was cleaning tables in Eda’s empty bakery when everything came crashing down. 

Luz arrived to a specific table that she had been avoiding. It was the one that she and Amity had sat at when they practiced for auditions. 

Luz missed her smile. She missed the actress’ vibrant teal hair and sharp golden eyes, how easy it was to be with her. 

The dull ache in Luz’s chest weighed heavier than it ever had. 

And Luz couldn’t stop herself from finally—finally—thinking about her.

She was gone. 

Amity was gone. 

Luz wasn’t surprised when a tear slid down her cheek. 

Next thing she knows, tears are streaming down her face. As much as she tried to blink them back, stop herself, her eyes kept welling up.

A sob gets caught in the back of her throat, and Luz resorted to burying her face in her hands. 

She should have told Amity how she felt!

If she wasn’t such an idiot, maybe she could have at least gone on a date with her. Or at least she would have gotten a rejection! Anything would be better than this! 

She would never would have guessed that this was how it would all end.

Suddenly she feels a hand on her upper arm. Eda’s voice rung out softly from above her. “Hey, kid, it’s okay.”

Luz instinctively wrapped her arms around the baker’s waist. 

“This is about Amity, isn’t it?”

Luz nodded, tightening her hold around Eda. “I messed up.”

“What makes you say that?”

She mumbled through her sobs. “I—I didn’t tell her that I-I liked her.”

Eda sighed. “It’s not your fault, Luz. You were just not ready to make a move. There’s nothing wrong with that.” 

Luz trembled in Eda’s arms. “But it’s too late! I messed everything up and... I miss her.”

“Can’t you just call her?”

She paused. “But what if she’s busy? Or doesn't want to talk to me?”

“Amity is a good kid, she’ll hear you out... and I know that she will respond too. Not that you see it, but she cares about you a lot. At least you can gave it a try. You miss every shot that you don’t take.”

———

It had been two days since Eda had told Luz what to do. 

The brunette had been holding it off, doing everything she could to avoid it. She wanted to go back to that numb ‘in shock’ state from before, so she could function without breaking down all the time. 

All Luz could think about now was Amity. Or did she ever really stop thinking of her?

The brunette was sitting by herself in the theater. Rehearsal had ended a few minutes back, and Luz decided to call her.

Her thumb hovered over the ‘end call’ button. She looked both ways, reassuring that she was alone. 

The phone just kept ringing. 

The first couple seconds she was silent, mind racing. There was so much she wanted to say, all of which should be in person. 

How can she just...

The phone just kept ringing.

Luz hung up after what felt like centuries, breath caught at the back of her throat. 

Of course Amity was busy! She’s an actress for Pete’s sake! 

So Luz packed up her things and left campus. 

——-

Luz tried calling again a couple days later. 

And this time she was sent directly to voice mail. 

The brunette sighed. 

Maybe tomorrow?

Something in the back of Luz’s mind told her that it wasn’t going to be so easy.

———

Nothing. 

Luz had tried calling an obnoxious amount of times at this point. The more time that passed, the more desperate Luz became. 

She knew that being an actress had to be time consuming... she knew that saying goodbye to Amity might have been a real goodbye. 

But she wasn’t quite ready to let go of Amity. 

Not just yet. 

So this time she decided to leave a message behind for Amity to listen to. 

Luz bit down on her bottom lip, chest aching. “Um... it’s—er—me. Luz.”

She blinked back tears. “I’ve been trying to talk to ya for a while now... but I understand that you’re busy. That Belos guy must be keeping you on your toes, huh?... and you never told me how seeing your mom was. Hopefully that went well. Maybe tell me about that when you get a chance?”

She continued. “Everyone here misses you a lot. Although I don’t think that she would admit it, I think Boscha sometimes misses you too.” Luz chuckled. “Maybe it’s a rivals thing? She has no worthy opponent anymore!... Willow and Gus said that they also sent you a couple texts. They miss you. Especially Gus! He thinks that Willow and I are boring compared to you.”

Luz paused, swallowing down a sob. She didn’t know when she started crying, but she did. “And I miss you. A lot. It’s really not the same here anymore...”

“There’s no pressure in responding right away. I can wait... I think. I’m here to talk—or text—whenever you aren’t too busy.”

Luz hung up, shutting off her phone and tucking it back into her pocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this is my tribute to all of those out there who love angst! :)
> 
> To those who don’t, it gets better! I promise! 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Amity’s POV:

The past week in New Zealand had sucked. 

There was barely enough time to breathe since shooting started! Amity had to wake up before dawn every day and wouldn’t be let go until long after sunset. Since the film was a thriller, a lot of scenes were filmed at ungodly hours. 

Belos also made Amity to dye her hair back to brown in order to match her character. But she was planning on dying it back to it’s prior state the second that filming was over. 

Despite the many, many downsides, Amity loved being able to act again. It was incredible! She didn’t realize just how much she missed being able to perform on a set until she was doing it again. And she had a feeling that the movie was going to be a massive hit. As creepy and off-putting as Belos was—and let’s not even talk about his lack of social skills—he was a genius when it came to directing. She was learning more about the film industry now than she had in years! 

She wondered somewhere in the back of her mind if she would be the one directing movies one day. That she would be the one calling all the shots...

Amity rolled her shoulders back, restraining a yawn. It was a little past nine at night. She had just finished up the last scene of the night. 

Another thing the actress had learned over the past week was that she was not planning on acting in any other horror films after this. Although she would never admit it, acting in a thriller is almost equivalent to actually being in one. 

A relieved smile parted Amity’s lips when she spotted her agent. Kikimora was waiting for Amity outside her trailer, bundled up in a snow jacket and looking a little more grumpy than usual. 

Kikimora offered her a grumpy grimace. “Was that the last scene?”

Amity nodded. “Unless Belos wants me to redo it—but I don’t think that’ll happen—he seemed pretty happy about the last take.”

Kikimora crossed her arms. “In that case, I’ll grab a cup of coffee and get ready to drive back to the apartment. Meantime, I believe that someone called you about an hour ago.”

Amity froze. “Yeah?” 

Kikimora nodded. 

Luz. 

Amity had been getting Luz’s calls since she arrived in New Zealand. 

And the actress always promised that she would reply to Luz whenever she wasn't working. 

In reality, she was just lying to herself. 

Because Amity knew that if she so much as heard Luz’s voice, that she’d be on a plane back home within an hour. All it would take was hearing her once—and that would be it—Amity would pack everything up and leave. No matter what it would cost her career wise. 

Calling Luz was all she wanted to do.

Amity knew that she was wrong. She knew that the longer that she waited to call back, the worse she would feel. 

And she hated the thought of hurting Luz. At first she thought that not responding would make things easier. Maybe Luz would just forget about her, or something. 

But what if every time Amity didn’t reply, Luz would think it’s her fault?

That was the last thing Amity wanted to happen.

So she disappeared into her trailer, reluctantly picking up her phone. She didn’t bother to listen to the voice mail, bringing the device to her ear. 

It took a long time for Luz to pick up. After about a minute or so of waiting, Amity was about to give in and hang up when she heard a beep. After a couple seconds of silence, a familiar voice drawled on the other end. “‘ello?”

Amity almost cried from joy when she heard Luz’s voice. “Luz!!—Oh my gosh I miss you so much and I haven't called until now and—

The actress paused. 

“Wait, what time is it over...I woke you up, didn’t I?”

Luz chuckled drowsily on the other end. “Yup.”

Right. There’s a time difference...

Amity cringed. “I’m sorry. I forgot that I’m eighteen hours ahead. I just got so excited because I finally got the chance to call back. It’s... around three in the morning back home, huh?”

“I think?—er—yeah.”

“I can always call back late—

Luz audibly gasped. “No! Please—I’m fine—I can stay up a little. I really want to talk to you. Did you get my voice mail?”

Amity’s heart skipped a beat. “I didn’t bother listening to it—I just called you right back. Why do you ask?”

She could tell that Luz was still trying to wake up. “Ah... nothing. How’ve you been? What’s it been like in New Zealand so far?”

“Well, it’s really green over here. It’s not as cold as I thought it was going to be, but that’s not stopping Kikimora from bundling up and complaining about frostbite. I just finished up a scene before I called you.”

“Cool!”

“Not so much... Maybe I should have thought twice about acting in a horror movie.”

Luz laughed. Although her voice was practically dripping with exhaustion, it was just as loud and bubbly as it had been in person. Amity ignored a familiar ache in her chest, realizing just how much she missed hearing it.

“That must suck!”

Amity rolled her eyes. “It really does! But it’s nice to be acting again...”

“Oh—I haven’t asked yet—how’s your... mom?”

Amity sighed. “As distant as ever. Apparently it doesn’t matter whether I’m 1,000 miles away or one foot. She’s never really... here.”

“I’m sorry.”

Amity shrugged. “You don’t have to be, Luz. But enough about me—how are things at Hex High?”

“Super boing. Everyone is going crazy here without you around! Willow and Gus keep asking about you—Oh—I even have an inkling that Boscha misses you too.”

“No way!”

“No no, she really does! She has no one to plot against anymore!”

Amity grinned. “Good! At least she’s not meddling...”

“I—um—I miss you, Amity. A lot.”

The actress’ sighed. “I think I might miss you more...”

“Are you happy?”

Amity bit down on her bottom lip. “I love being able to act again.”

“But are you happy?”

Amity’s reply is almost a knee jerk response. “I miss you. So not really.”

Luz was silent on the other end for long moment. “Amity, when do you get off of work?”

Amity’s eyebrows furrow. “Usually around now. Sometime a little earlier, sometimes a little later. Why do you ask?”

“If you’re not busy... can I maybe call you after work sometimes? If you’re not too tired to talk?”

Amity almost sobbed from relief. “Yes! Whenever you can, I want to.”

Luz and Amity talked over the phone for a long time that night. Amity didn’t care how exhausted she was, or how much sleep she was probably losing. All she wanted to do was listen to Luz. Just feel a little closer to her. It was almost ironic, that she felt closer to Luz, who was thousands of miles away, than to her mother, who was less than ten.

Eventually Amity hears a car outside the trailer honk a couple times. Taking that as Kikimora’s cue for ‘if you don’t get in the car right now, I’m leaving you here’, Amity said a quick goodbye to Luz and hung up. 

She stared down at her phone a what was probably a century. She had been such an idiot not calling back until now! 

Another honk from outside the trailer and Amity rushes out. Kikimora was scowling at her from the driver’s seat, a cup of coffee in one hand and the other on the steering wheel. 

Note to self: If Kikimora doesn’t get a healthy amount of sleep, you risk getting run over. 

Amity rubbed at her eyes, dragging herself over to the car and getting into the passenger’s seat. “Sorry.”

Kikimora’s glare melted into a sympathetic frown. “You don’t have to apologize... I understand that you really needed to talk to her.”

———

Why? 

Why did Kikimora have to tell Amity about this stupid offer???

That’s all the agent kept asking herself. 

Because now Kikimora had to suffer through Amity’s pining for Luz and vice versa! And the sleep she had lost the past couple of nights was really getting to her. 

And what was worse, if she hadn’t meddled, maybe Amity and Luz would be together already!

Guilt had been eating away at Kikimora since this whole ordeal started. 

She sighed, watching as Amity and Belos discussed an upcoming scene. 

Kikimora jumped when her phone began to ring. After receiving a few glares from the crew on set, Kikimora excused herself from the room and answered. 

“Hel—

“Is your kid broken too?”

Kikimora’s jaw dropped. “Eda! Yes, I am afraid that... she is not doing very well.”

“Good, ‘cus mine too. Now what are we going to do about it?”

Kikimora frowned. “I was not aware this is something that we could fix.”

Eda sighed. “Look—Luz is upset—like really upset. I didn’t know it was humanly possible for Luz to be this unhappy.”

She hummed in agreement. “I fear that Amity is acting similar to Luz in that regard.”

“Yeah?”

“On top of working an unhealthy amount every day, Amity also calls Luz every night. Besides work, all Amity really does is miss her.”

“That explains why Luz has been falling asleep during her shifts—wait—what do you mean that Amity has been working too much? So that director doesn’t even give her breaks???”

“Not long ones.”

“Woah... okay, that’s not good.”

Kikimora hummed. “Your skills in observation are astonishing.”

Eda sighed. “That’s not important right now. I think you want to help Amity as much as I want to Luz.”

“But what could we possibly do?”

———

Another extremely long week passes, and Amity wishes that she could collapse. She completely forgot how difficult it was to act every day for hours on end!

She still made enough time to call Luz. 

The calls lasted longer some days than others. Luz didn’t seem to mind waiting until some excessively late hour so they could talk, but Amity still felt guilty about it. 

Then again, she had a sinking feeling that both of them would go insane without being able to talk. 

Belos decided to call shooting early today, in hopes that everyone would be able to come back the next morning ready to continue shooting. 

Amity had just made it back to the apartment. She shuffled over to the couch, plopping down. 

Kikimora lingered by the door, hands welded together. She bit her lip, glaring down at her phone. 

The actress frowned. “Are you okay?”

Kikimora’s eyes darted over in Amity’s direction. She ran a hand down her face before sitting on the couch next to her. “I... have a proposition.”

“Yeah?”

“I think it would take a lot of convincing for Belos to allow it—if he doesn’t say no right off the bat—and I don’t know if it is even logical... but I wanted to ask you first before disregarding it completely.”

Amity rose an eyebrow. What was Kikimora talking about? She hummed, signaling the agent to continue. 

“Well, I heard from Eda that the play that Luz is in starts showing in a couple weeks.”

Amity nodded slowly. “Yeah, I remember Luz mentioning that to me a few days back. Why?”

“I was thinking that maybe you’d like to—err—go?”

Amity blinked. “‘Go’? Like—get on a plane and fly back to watch it—‘go?’”

Kikimora offered her a hesitant smile. “Yes?”

Amity didn’t know whether to tell Kikimora to stop teasing her, start crying, or cheer. 

Kikimora rubbed the back of her neck. “What do you think?”

The actress bit down on her bottom lip. 

This was too good to be true. 

“You’re kidding, right? There’s no way that would work! Like Belos would never agree to it! And even if he did, what then? I would need to get plane tickets and go—

Kikimora rolled her eyes. “Belos is the issue. Everything else I can handle. But I’d like to give it a try, if you would be okay with it.”

Amity didn’t hesitate to wrap Kikimora in a bone-crushing hug. “Yes!!! That would be amazing!”

The agent hummed. Amity could tell that Kikimora was almost as happy as she was, attempting in vain to hide a grin. “So will you tell Luz?”

Amity froze. “I don’t want to get her hopes up, if it doesn’t work out....”

Kikimora nodded. “That sounds reasonable.”

The actress grimaced. 

All she had to so was convince Belos...

———

Belos was frozen in place, as if he was in the process of rebooting his system. “You want to.... what?”

Amity glanced over at Kikimora before continuing. “Well, I know it’s really uncalled for, and that I should stay... But I want you to consider my situation. I’m a teenager who has been working in the film industry for since as long as I can remember.”

Belos scowled down at her. “Your point being?”

Amity clenched her fists, digging her fingernails into her palms hard enough to leave crescents. 

She needed to stay calm. Belos is just another person, no better or worse than she is. And although he does get the final answer in this decision, she still needed to be an adult about it.

“I am just asking for four days. Technically two, since I’ll be working on the days I leave and return. I just want two days off.”

Belos grimaced. “But what can you possibly do in only two days? No, I don’t think it’d be sufficient for you to—”

Amity fiddled with her jacket sleeve, forcing herself not to break eye contact. “Luz, the girl I like, she’s been working really hard on this play that is being put on at school... and I thought that I could go watch it.”

Belos was still frozen where he stood. “Oh....”

Kikimora stepped in. “Might I add, Amity helped direct this play. She had put in a lot of time and effort into perfecting it. It would be almost irresponsible of her to miss this event.”

Amity continued. “And I’ll be back almost right after! It’s just that.... It’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen her, and it just feels wrong extending that time. Besides, maybe the crew could work on scenes that I’m not in while I’m gone? Or maybe we can all take a few days to relax.... it’ll make our overall performance better.” 

Belos let go of a long sigh, bringing a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “If I agreed to this, you would leave in roughly about a week, correct?”

Amity nodded. 

Belos groaned. “Fine, you have two days. But I expect you to be ready to work the second you arrive back here, and you will not have any days off after until we make up for lost time.”

Amity grinned. Maybe not the best outcome, but hey, she still got to see Luz!! 

She forced her smirk to dissipate, thanking Belos. The director just scoffed, turning on his heel to talk to another crew mate. 

Amity had to restrain herself from sprinting over to Kikimora. She pumped her fist into the air when arriving where her agent resided. 

Kikimora, for the first time since they had left, was grinning. “Seems like you will be seeing Luz sooner than you previously thought.”

The actress nodded, barely able to contain the excitement bubbling up in her chest. “So I was thinking.... what if I surprise Luz instead? That way if anything goes wrong—like the plane is postponed or the flight is canceled—I don’t disappoint her. And I think she would appreciate me going the extra mile in surprising her.”

Kikimora’s smile widened, her hand resting on the actress’ shoulder. “That sounds amazing, Amity.” 

The actress grinned. 

Maybe next week won’t be so bad...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the horror fans out there who are curious on what type of thriller Amity is starring in, I’m imagining a ‘Haunting of Hill House’ kind of vibe. Just for reference, I guess.
> 
> We are getting very, very close to the end now. One or two chapters are left depending on how I break it up!
> 
> Just a quick thank you for everyone who’s been with me this long! I am so glad that I have been able to share this fic with you all. <3
> 
> Can’t wait to share the next update with you! :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! 
> 
> It’s the last chapter! I am feeling very bittersweet about this fic being over. :)
> 
> This last update is dedicated to everyone who has spent time reading my story. It means the world to me that there are people who are enjoying this. So consider this as a huge thanks from me to you <3
> 
> I hope you like this!

Luz’s POV:

Luz ran her fingers through her hair, forgetting for the millionth time that her hand was caked in flour. 

Eda was on the opposite end of the kitchen from Luz, arguing with King over calculating the maximum revenue for their month’s earnings. Since the holidays were approaching at an alarming speed, Eda’s bakery had been running out of ingredients faster than anticipated.

Luz sighed. “Are you sure you want to close the bakery on Friday? You don’t have to watch the play...”

Eda rolled her eyes, waving the teen off. “Nonsense! We’ll be swimming in so much money by Friday that we’ll need a day off! Besides, there’s no way I’d miss my kid’s play. Not a chance.”

A familiar ache twisted in Luz’s gut. She had gotten so used to feeling like something was missing these past few weeks that she almost felt strange when it wasn’t around. 

“You know... I kind of wish that Amity was around to watch it.”

Eda turned around to face the brunette. “Yeah?”

Luz broke eye contact with her, focusing on the tiled floor. “It’s just... we worked on it together. Amity helped me with my lines, made me leave my comfort zone. It feels wrong going on with the play without her.”

“I see.”

Luz trudged over to the sink and washed the flour off her hands. “But that’s not going to happen. Like, I’m sure Amity and I will be able to see each other again... sometime. I just need to wait for a while.”

“Keep your chin up, kid. I know it’s been tough—really tough—without her, but you’re doing great.”

The brunette offered the baker a tiny smile. “Thanks, Eda.”

———

Luz hummed, listening intently to a familiar voice’s rambles. 

It was the brunette’s favorite time of any day, hands down. It didn’t matter that it was three in the morning, or that she had to whisper in hopes not to wake her mom.

All that mattered was that Luz got to hear Amity’s voice and know that she was still on the same planet as her. 

“—And—oh my gosh—I died when my mom was forced to do that. Honestly, how can she be that afraid of mud??? She looked like such an idiot, trying to act realistically and avoid the getting dirty at the same time! Belos had to kick me off of set to stop me from laughing and ruining the take!”

Luz giggled. “Sounds like your mom got what she deserved.”

“So how was your day? Do anything fun?”

The brunette groaned, running a hand down her face. “The bakery has been crazy busy as of late. I’ve been helping Eda bake before sunrise every day so we are ready for the morning rush. You got to love the Holidays...”

“Yeah? I bet Eda’s really loving all that extra dough though.”

“Actually, she’s planning on giving me a raise and—oh—I see what you did there. Ha ha, very funny, a lot of ‘dough’. You’re a genius.”

Amity cackled on the other end of the phone. “Oh, come on! That’s like the best pun I’ve ever come up with! You have to admit that it was good!”

Luz grinned. “It was.... something.”

“You’re just being a sore loser because you can’t come up with a better one!”

“Fine, I’ll admit that was good... sort of.”

Amity scoffed. “How is everything else going?”

The brunette shrugged, despite Amity not being able to see the gesture. “It’s been okay... Willow and Gus are in some prank war at the moment, Boscha’s still amusing herself by shoving students into lockers. Drama rehearsals have been good. You know, the usual.”

Amity became deadly silent over the phone. “How’s the play going? I know it’s only a few days away now.”

“Everyone has been doing really great! I think... I think you really helped us connect with the characters we play. I know you helped me a lot, at least.”

“I miss you too.”

The brunette sighed. “Can I call you again tomorrow?”

“Always.”

———

Things were okay. 

Luz was ahead in her classwork (which was new for her), she kept making plans with Willow and Gus. 

She still felt empty whenever she got off the phone with Amity, or when something would remind her of the actress. 

Luz had been feeling particularly nostalgic. It was the day of opening night for Romeo and Juliet.

And Luz was nervous. 

Sure, she definitely had jitters about performing in a star role. Who wouldn’t?

But there was something else. It felt as if Luz was missing something. Not lines and stage directions (she had those memorized by heart), but someone. 

Luz would never tell anyone this though. Not even Eda. 

The brunette knew that she should just be happy in the moment, be grateful that she got to get to know Amity in the time they had. 

But she, today in specific, started wondering what she would have done different. If she got the chance, what would she want to change. 

One thing in specific came to mind. 

———

Eda sighed, shooing customers out of her bakery and whipping down tables. She forgot how hard it was to work without her kid around!

She had to practically force Luz not to come in to work today. 

Mostly because Luz should be focusing on preparing for tonight, not worrying about pastries in an oven. Besides, it wasn’t like Eda had never run a bakery on her own before. Before Luz and King, it was just her against the world! And the cops, but that was a different story...

What Eda hadn’t told Luz was that she had to close the bakery in order to pick up an actress at the airport on time. 

Eda, after making final arrangements and corralling King into her convertible, sped towards the airport. 

The baker was almost shocked to see Amity and Kikimora actually waiting for her at the departures terminal. She was starting to worry that they would be late, or that something else would go wrong. 

But much to Eda’s relief, the two were already there waiting for her.

Both Amity and Kikimora climbed into the convertible. Eda decided not to comment on the fact that each of them had nothing more than a backpack.

King muttered a quiet “I knew she would crawl back to see her girlfriend” before looking back down to fiddle with his seatbelt buckle.

Eda gasped. “Amity, your hair! What happened to it?”

The actress spluttered. “Right—yeah—I had to dye it brown for the movie I’m in. Don’t worry, It’ll be back to aquamarine by the time this stupid film is over.”

Eda chuckled. “You two ready? The play starts within an hour, which gives us just enough time to drive to school and get to our seats.”

The baker decided to ignore the goofy grin that twisted Amity’s lips, offering Kikimora a knowing wink before pulling back onto the road.

———

Eda jerked the wheel, causing the convertible to screech as it slid into the parking lot.

Amity and King tumbled out almost immediately, practically racing each other to the school’s main entrance.

Kikimora sighed, rolling her eyes at Amity’s excitement. She stepped out of the convertible. “Eda, do you think that Amity and Luz will... you know?”

Eda chuckled. “What? confess? No way!”

Kikimora rose an eyebrow. “I actually believe the opposite. I think one of them will crack after all this time.”

“Wanna bet?”

Kikimora scoffed. “It would be totally immature of me to—I bet you ten bucks that either Amity or Luz confesses.”

“Make it twenty and we have a deal.”

———

Luz sighed, watching as the cast of Romeo and Juliet ran around in a panic. She had to contain her laughter as some students struggled getting into costume. 

Surprisingly, Luz wasn’t nervous anymore. She had this entire play down by heart. If you asked her, she might be able to even recite all her lines backwards.

It’s what Amity would have done. 

Luz wondered what the actress was doing right now. Probably acting out some dramatic scene in Belos’ movie, or being forced to mingle with her mom—

“Luz!”

She looked up, eyes locking with the drama teacher’s. “Uh-huh?”

“You’re on in... five minutes! You got this!”

He doesn’t bother to wait a moment longer, fleeing to aid those hyperventilating out of paper bags. 

Luz stood. 

This was it. 

She had this!

... Hopefully.

The brunette took a deep breath, looking down at her phone one last time. She had gotten a ton of ‘good luck’ texts from classmates, Willow and Gus, her mom. Everyone she knew had texted her. 

Except for Amity and Eda. 

Amity was probably busy...

But Eda? Hopefully she wasn’t running late—

“Two minutes and we’re on!”

Cue more chaos. 

Luz pushed any lingering thoughts to the back of her mind, walking past everyone to her entrance. 

Okay, now she was a little scared. 

She watched from behind curtains a few students walked on stage and started rehearsing their lines. 

Any moment now and she’d be on stage. 

She waited in a deafening silence until it was her cue. 

And then she left the safety of the curtains. 

———

Before Luz knew it, they were through the majority of the play. 

It all had passed in a blur. 

She was grateful that the audience was in the dark. It kept her focused on her acting, making sure that she was not missing cues or forgetting whatever random crap she had to remember. 

So when the scene of Romeo’s death arrived, Luz was determined. All she really needed to do at this point was cry over Juliet’s ‘dead’ body for about a minute and then fake-stab herself!

And then she was done. 

Easy!

So she rushed onto stage, pretending to be shocked when seeing her co-actress unmoving on the floor. 

After a couple dramatic lines, Luz dropped onto her knees next to the student. 

It was pathetically easy for Luz to act in this. 

All it really ever took was for her to think about Amity leaving, and—

Yup, now she’s crying. 

After another few lines, Amity reminded herself to look up at the crowd. It was the only time she was allowed to break the fourth wall and address those watching. 

To Luz’s surprise, whoever she looked at had tears in their eyes. 

Obviously she was doing something right!

Her eyes scanned the crowd. 

Oh there’s Eda and King, her mom, Willow and Gus, and Kikimora and Amity and—

Amity?

Luz’s eyes darted back to meet golden. 

Amity.

There was no way!

She must just be imagining things.... right???

No, Amity was in New Zealand. 

Luz remembered last second that she had to look at Juliet. So she hesitantly brought her head down, forcing out her lines. 

Focus. 

It was just Luz’s imagination. Amity was gone.

And she had a job to do. 

Luz continued, making sure not to rush through her lines. She was thankful when she finally got to fake-stab herself and play dead. 

She could barely concentrate.

———

Calmdowncalmdowncalmdown

At the end of ‘Romeo and Juliet’, Luz walked onto stage with her cast. She forced herself to take a deep breath as she bowed. 

And the brunette was in shock when the lights came on and her eyes locked with golden again.

Oh...

No, Amity was definitely there.

Luz bit down on her bottom lip, fighting back a smile. She walked with the other students behind the curtains. 

But once Luz disappeared behind curtains, she ran over to her clothes, ditching the costume for her worn hoodie and shorts. 

She almost forgot her phone when sprinting out of the theater. 

Amity was here!!!

There was no way that was possible! Was it/

Was it just her imagination???

Luz burst out from auditorium doors and into the hallway. Her head swiveled around, weaving and dodging the masses. She politely slipped passed when people complemented her on her acting, thanking them hurriedly before pushing through. 

About a minute into her search, the brunette hears a familiar voice echo from somewhere in the crowd. 

“Luz!”

That’s when she saw her. About twenty feet away, Amity was standing off to the side in the hallway. 

Tears welded up in Luz’s eyes. “Amity—oh my god—

She rushed over, not bothering to wipe away the tear that had slid down her cheek. 

Next thing she knew, Luz was hanging onto Amity as if her very existence depended on it. 

She was here! Amity wasn’t just a figment of her imagination!!

Amity was back.

She came back. 

Amity didn’t bother to say anything, merely wrapping her arms around Luz. 

Luz didn’t know how much time passed. She just clung to her best friend, hoping that this moment could last for forever. 

Luz, after realizing that Amity wouldn’t disappear if she let go, let her arms move up to the actress’ shoulders, pushing her back slightly. “Amity—how—why—how are you here???”

Amity offered Luz a shy smile. “I missed you. And I wanted to see you in the play. You were amazing!!”

Luz gaped. “But Belos—and the movie—you didn’t quit, did you??? Please don’t tell me you quit because I missed you—

Amity rolled her eyes and shook her head, her smile widening to a grin. She brought a hand up to Luz’s cheek, wiping away a tear with her thumb. “You’re an idiot.”

Luz found herself leaning into Amity’s touch. 

It took her a long moment to realize just what was happening. 

And promptly Luz’s heart began to bang against her ribcage. 

This was it. This was Luz’s chance to fix everything! Maybe this time she could make things better. 

It was now or never.

So Luz brought her own hand up, cupping the actress’ cheek. 

And for the first time since Luz had met Amity, she didn’t stop herself from eyes look down at her lips. 

After giving Amity a moment to pull away, which she didn’t, Luz dove in. 

And she kissed her best friend. 

It came to a shock that Amity leaned into it.

She was kissing back!!!

The whole world disappeared around them. It was just Luz and Amity. 

Luz smiled into their kiss when she felt Amity rake her hands through her hair. 

She only broke their kiss to rest her forehead against Amity’s. She mumbled into the actress’ shoulder. 

“I missed you.”

Amity hummed. “I’ve been waiting to do that for a long time.”

Luz pulled away, eyes wide. “You have???”

The actress shook her head in disbelief, holding back a giggle. “Yeah?”

Luz grinned. 

Was it hot in here???

Luz opened her mouth to ask the inevitable ‘how long have you liked me’ when Amity took up her hands. “Luz, please be my girlfriend.”

Wait.

Did Amity just ask what Luz thought she did?

The brunette’s eyes widened. “Yes!!!”

Amity grinned.

“Oh... off topic, but did you know that your hair isn’t teal anymore?”

The actress rolled her eyes. “Of course I do, you dork! How could I not know?”

Only then did Luz notice that literally everyone she really knows was standing a few feet behind Amity. 

How long had they been there?

Gus was just standing there with his eyes the size of grapefruits, pointing a finger dumbly in their direction. Her mom had a massive grin on her face, hands clasped together. Eda face was red, mouth hanging open. Luz was shocked when seeing the baker pull out a wad of cash and hand it over to Kikimora, who wore a smug expression on her face. 

The only two people who didn’t look shocked were Willow and King, both of which were rolling their eyes and muttering something along the lines of ‘I knew this would happen since the day Amity stumbled into town’. 

Luz turned her attention back to Amity.

The actress’ face reddened. “They’re looking, aren’t they?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Not really.”

“Good, because I think that Eda just lost a bet to Kikimora...”

———

~Three months later~

Luz groaned, resting her head on her textbook. “This is stupid!”

Willow looked up from her book, raising an eyebrow. “It’s just an essay.”

The brunette just mumbled. 

Gus took a bite of his sandwich. “I got to say, Luz is right. Why is Lilith only giving us two days to write this?? I think she’s finally taking her pent-up rage out on us....”

Willow just sighed. “Luz, how’s Amity doing?”

It took less than a second for the brunette’s face turn a dark shade of red. 

And of course this wins two smirks from her best friends. 

Literally everyone had been teasing the brunette about her relationship with Amity. Mostly because they entire town had all been waiting for them both to just get over themselves and get together. 

And after a long, long time of waiting....

They did. 

The second Romeo and Juliet had ended, Luz refused to leave Amity’s side. 

And it would be an understatement to say that they made the town now suffer through their sheepish new status as a couple. 

And let’s just say, there were some very excited responses to Amity’s selfie she took with Luz and posted her new relationship status to the world. A lot of commenters were freaking out, asking if this was the ‘Sunshine’ that they had heard so much about. 

And Luz promptly asked who ‘Sunshine’ was.

Hilarity ensued.

Luz only left Amity’s side when she had to fly back to New Zealand. They still called each other every night, despite the late hours. 

And. Luz. Kept. Getting. Teased. For. It. 

Hey, so she likes talking to her girlfriend! Why wouldn’t she call her whenever she could?

Luz ran a hand through her hair. “She’s almost finished up in Paris. And Amity’s apparently very ashamed of her broken French. But she’s alright... she’s going to actually stop here after Paris for a few weeks, since she’s between jobs.”

Gus cheered, essay forgotten. “Yes!!!”

Willow allowed a tiny smile to twist her lips.

———

Luz escaped from her apron, hanging it up on a rack before grabbing her backpack and leaving the kitchen. 

Eda was humming to herself as she worked. 

“Do you need me to do anything else before I head out?”

The baker turned around to smile at Luz. “Actually... I was hoping I could talk to you for a moment.”

The brunette nodded, walking over to sit on a stool situated by the counter.

Eda grinned, resting her elbows on the counter. “Ever since this year had started, I’ve been considering an opportunity.”

“Yeah?”

“So I have been saving up eve since my bakery has taken off—about eight years ago—and I have finally decided what to spend it on...”

Luz grinned. “What?”

“I want to move my bakery to a busier place. Somewhere with a lot more people. And... I wanted you to be a part of that.”

The brunette’s eyes widened. 

“Hear me out! We wouldn’t move until after you’re done with high school here. And I know the perfect place to go. You see, there’s a culinary school in Los Angeles I can get you into. I have a lot of friends who work there, and if I pull a couple strings you’d be let in with no second thoughts! And I’m sure we could get you a discount, or something...”

Luz’s mouth hung open. 

This was everything she wanted! 

Luz could still work with Eda and go to culinary school! She wouldn’t have to leave everything she had here behind! But... why would Eda want to open up a bakery in LA?

Eda grinned, as if having read Luz’s thoughts. “For one, there are a LOT of people there. More than I think I could handle on my own—which is why having someone as competent as you stick around would be my salvation—but... it’s also only around a twelve minute drive to Hollywood.”

Luz blinked slowly. “How does that make a difference?”

Eda chuckled. “You know, that’s where most movies are filmed. And someone with a great reputation in the entertainment industry would really do well if—

“Oooooohhhhhh! So you’re saying that Amity would be getting a lot of opportunities there?”

Eda rolled her eyes, nodding. “Obviously Amity wouldn’t be the primary reason we would be heading west, but I thought that it would be a bonus.”

Luz squealed, leaning over the counter to pull Eda into a hug. “That would be awesome!! Thank you.”

Eda chuckled, resting a hand on the brunette’s shoulder. “Don’t thank me, kid! I just wanna go somewhere with better business! And Los Angeles is one of the best places to do that.”

Luz called Amity earlier that day to tell her the news. 

She had a feeling that things would work out in the end. For now, all she had to do was hold on. 

~The End~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, kudos, comments, and constructive criticism are appreciated! 
> 
> When it comes to future plans, I have three Owl House fics I’m planning to write (one of them is halfway done)! And if any of you have a request, just write it down in the comments! In advance, I might not get to it, but I’ll do my best! :)
> 
> One last thank you to everyone who has read my fic. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I had fun writing it. This has been an incredible few months, and I am grateful for having been able to share this with so many amazing people! <3


End file.
